


Conquest: Noire

by stealthcl0wn



Series: The Conquest Saga [1]
Category: Hyperdimension Neptunia
Genre: F/F, Neptunia VII Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-04-07 04:59:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 29,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4250289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stealthcl0wn/pseuds/stealthcl0wn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A twist of fate leaves the Gehaburn in Noire's hands, and the corroding influence of the cursed sword slowly tears apart her life and relationships. Branded a monster by her former allies after an incident, Noire is faced with a long-unanswered question; is her heart really as black as her title implies?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1: Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It begins.

Neptune.

**NEPTUNE.**

This time, there was no negotiation, no peace talks, no cooldown hugs. Within 15 minutes, Lastation's shares had plummeted and Planeptune's had skyrocketed. There was no coincidence, no "luck". This was _theft_ , and she was going to pay.

Noire flew single-mindedly towards Planeptune's basilicom, with Uni in tow. At her side lay the sword. It was found a week ago, in an excavation site in Southern Lastation. Noire immediately took great interest in it, keeping it on her person at almost all times. Her obsession had worried Uni, but Uni was far too concerned right now with the Planeptune situation to realize she'd brought it with her.

15 mins of flying before Planeptune came into view. _Yes. It's time._ Noire wordlessly descended towards the balcony, reverting to her human form the moment she touched the ground. Pausing for a fragment of a second, Noire shrugged off any instance of doubt and began marching towards the interior. She seemed... off, to Uni somehow. She'd been angry before, but never like this. Rather than appearing prideful and elegant, she was emanating fury, which was concerning for someone like _Noire_.

Uni finally caught up with her sister, and de-transformed the moment she hit the ground. Noire was already inside, spewing a torrent of disgust and hatred towards Neptune. As she got closer, it became more and more eligible.

"WE'VE BEEN ALLIES FOR **YEARS** AND YOU GO AND BETRAY ME LIKE THAT? I **TRUSTED** YOU NEPTUNE. BUT... but no. You had to go and stab me in the back. It's not like I was enjoying being closer to you, or anythi-"

Nepgear butted in, stepping between the two. She cleared her throat, and straightened her back. It was obvious she was terrified of Noire.

"Noire. Please, _please_ listen to me. We didn't steal your shares. We didn't even KNOW until you came by. So I'm begging you, please listen to reason. Please." The final please was riddled with desperation. It was if she knew conflict was brewing for the first time in years.

She was so incredibly wrong. Noire's facial expression changed from "anger" to "explosive fury" as a result of her actions. In a flash, she'd tossed Nepgear aside and grabbed Neptune by the collar.

Neptune struggled in vain against Noire's vice-like grip. "Whoa whoa Lonely Heart, what's gotten into you? Maybe we should grab some pudding and talk it out, huh?"

Her attempts at joke only made Noire's fuse burn faster. With seeming impunity, Noire tossed Neptune across the room. She paused for a moment. _Do it. Let it begin._ Taking a deep breathe to prepare, Noire reached for the sword at her hip. _It's time_ Uni saw her hand move for the sword and immediately made a frantic, mad dash towards the room. 

Noire drew the sword, shut her eyes, and readied it. Neptune was backed against a wall, frozen with fear and confusion. "Forgive me" Noire whispered into herself.

She lunged forward. The sword connected and impaled it's target, rending muscle, burning flesh and piercing bone. 

Noire heard the gasps. She didn't dare open her eyes just yet. The gravity of what she'd done and tried to do had just hit her. She just killed her best friend. Her eternal rival. Her one love. How could she come back from this? How could she repent for such an awful act? Nobody would forgive her. Not Nepgear, not Plutia, not Uzume, not any of the goddesses, candidates, oracles or makers on Earth.

Noire slowly began to open her eyes; she had to face this.

She saw the purple boots, the knee high socks... the schoolgirl outfit... the Planeptune symbol... the... long flowing hair?

Noire's eyes fully open, it dawned on her. Nepgear had taken the blow instead. 

She was staring into Noire's eyes. Noire could see the life slowly leave her. To her surprise, Nepgear raised a hand to Noire's face and weakly leaned in closer.

"Don't... don't worry Noire. Better me than someone important, right?" Nepgear gave a pathetic laugh, coughing up a small fragment of blood in the process.

With one last sigh, Nepgear left the world forever.

"No. No. No no no no no no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO PLEASE NO". The cries came from the right. It was Uni.

Noire ripped the sword from Nepgear and tossed it aside. Collapsing to her knees, she stared at the body before her. The youthful and cheery CPU candidate was devoid of all life, joy and youth. Neptune was collapsed against the wall, expressionless. Colour and life had left her face, making her resemble a corpse in a way.

Uni rushed to Nepgear's side and immediately wrapped her arms around the candidate. Tears in her eyes, she began to beg. "Nepgear please, please come back. Stop fooling around you idiot and get back to me. Please. _Please_. I can totally live without you, but it'd be so much better if you were here, right? Right? Please come back."  
Uni's words became incomprehensible amidst the sound of her sobs, but she managed a few more words before giving up and resigning herself to weeping.

"I can't live without you. Please don't leave me alone in this world."

Nothing. Not a sound or acknowledgement or movement. Nepgear, _her _Nepgear was gone forever.  
Something inside Uni broke at that realisation. Her sobs stopped, her tears ceased to flow. She simply sat there, cradling Nepgear back and forth. The sight before Noire's eyes was enough to shake her back into the real world. Weakly, and with great hesitation, Noire stood up. Unsure of what to do, she reached over towards the sword and reattached it to her hip. She stared at the balcony, contemplating whether or not to leave now. __

__She'd leave, but not Black Heart. Sighing, Noire turned around and exited the room via the hallway exit. She would walk to Lastation, even if her legs burned doing so.  
As she left, she bumped into Histoire in the main hall. The fairy girl was completely unaware of what had just transpired, and thus greeted Noire with a smile. "Hello Noire, how did your talk go?"_ _

__Noire had nothing to say. She wasn't worthy of saying anything other than the words lying at the back of her mind: "I'm so sorry Histy."_ _

__And with that, Noire left Planeptune's Basilicom, perhaps for the last time._ _

__The walk to Lastation was a solemn one. Civilians in the street whispered amongst themselves about the presence of a goddess in Planeptune and how she looked so unkempt. Noire briefly considered collapsing before them and confessing her sins and begging forgiveness, but there would be no point in that. This road Noire had paved was hers, and she would walk it alone if she had to._ _

__After the 30th mile, just inside the Lastation border, exhaustion caught up with her. Noire collapsed to the ground, her conscience slowly fading. "Please... let this be the end" were the last thoughts to run through her mind before it was silenced._ _

_Poor girl. It's only getting started_


	2. Part 1.2: Recover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Millennia-old plans begin to gain speed, and a myth resurfaces.

She couldn't quite believe what she was reading.

The Gamindustri internet had exploded within the last hour. Talk of a CPU candidate being murdered, followed by an official announcement by Planeptune's oracle. The woman, sitting in a darkened room that concealed all of her physical characteristics, was practically bouncing in her chair.  
It was possible. It was doable, and within reason too. Goddesses could be killed. **_Permanently_**

Her exile lasted for thousands of years, and she spent almost every waking moment either researching for ways to destroy Goddesses permanently, or roaming the world to see if any historical Goddesses had died. Yet, for years, neither of those effort bore any fruit. The only Goddess that had existed before her was the True Goddess, the pillar of Gamindustri.  
All of a sudden, a CPU candidate is struck down in her own Basilicom. Was it fate laughing in her face? Mocking her for several thousand years of wasted effort? It mattered not in the end. Goddesses could be killed. They _would_ be killed.

The woman stood from her chair and began a routine of stretches. Life behind a desk lead to stiff joints, something she wished to avoid. As she cracked her back, a thought occurred to her.  
Sitting back down, she quickly opened up some of the darker message boards of the web. Filtering through many rumours and leaked documents, she came across something that peaked her interest. A study published by a discredit scientist titled "Gehaburn History, Speculation and Evidence"

Around the time of her existence, a strange force crafted an evil sword during a particularly nasty energy storm. Many freelance scientists gathered to study it. After many tests, they deduced three things;  
1) That something was inhabiting the blade  
2) That it sustained itself on blood  
and 3) That the sword grew STRONGER when exposed to Goddess blood.

The idea that they had somehow obtained her blood (As she was the only living Goddess at the time) worried her, but it didn't deter her.  
The document continued, talking of archaeological digs conducted after The Crash that attempted to find any history behind the sword. The majority yielded nothing but disappointment, but one team digging around the land that would become Leanbox found various cave paintings that depicted dark figures wielding similarly shaped swords. Sadly, the area was stripped clean by another energy storm, wiping those paintings from this world.

A mysterious sword that can kill Goddesses, that may have resurfaced. The woman was practically pulsating with excitement now. Her long term goal was finally coming to fruition. But first, she needed to FIND it.

She stood up from her chair, gathered her bag and made for the exit for the first time in years. She had to pay a visit to Gamindustri again. She was back... she... "she"? What was her name again?

Ah yes.

Rei Ryghts.

Rei Ryghts was **_back_**


	3. Part 1.4: Reboot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello.

Good morning.

You've had a long day.

No wonder you're resting.

I know what you're thinking.

Don't worry, you're still a good person.

You were never meant to be in this position.

It's not your fault, don't beat yourself up over it.

Her death was an accident right? Nothing you could do.

You should rest more.

On second thought, nah. Tomorrow is going to be a long, long day.

Not tomorrow, today. My mistake.

She still loves you, don't fret.

This'll all be fine soon.

Wake up, Noire, you have work to do.


	4. Part 1.6: Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news hits.

Life for Compa was reasonably simple. Planeptune was a quiet state, very rarely were there any serious monster incidents. Her work as a nurse mostly boiled down to helping people with minor illnesses and putting bandages on over-eager kids with skinned knees.

Today however, was the start of all that changing. Not just for Compa, IF and their friends, but for Planeptune as a whole, and perhaps the world.

Compa was working peacefully in her little clinic. It was a warm day, so the fan was on full and the windows were open. Nothing unusual, really. The day had came in slowly, Compa almost succumbed to boredom and fell asleep several times. Out of the blue, however, came the sounds of rushing and yelling outside. Just before she had the chance to investigate, IF burst in the door, drenched in sweat.  
"You need to come see this. Now." IF's tone was unusually grim and demanding, a far cry from her usual demeanour. She was like that around other people, but never Compa. She was always delicate with her. Compa nodded in agreement, and quickly followed her girlfriend.

IF was rushing, moving at such a pace that Compa struggled to keep up. Every "What is going on?" and "Where are we going?" was met with silence. With each denial, dread grew in Compa's heart. She knew something wrong was, but not knowing EXACTLY what it was scared her even more.  
It took 15 minutes to reach Planeptune Central, but the pace that IF was travelling at meant they had arrived there within 5 minutes. IF looked down, sighed, and pointed to the massive monitor mounted on Planeptune's basilicom. 

For a few minutes, nothing. 

For a few more minutes, nothing.

Finally, the screen flickered to life. Enveloping the screen was Histoire. She was standing up on a small pedestal, and not her usual tome. Many assumed a technical glitch, as Histoire stared at the ground for 3 minutes without moving. She sighed, signalling to the viewers that it was NOT a technical glitch. 3 minutes more, another sigh. 3 minutes more. Another sigh. 3 minutes further. Was she crying? The crowd was getting worried and agitated. Something was clearly wrong.

3 minutes more.

Histoire lifted her head, revealing her face to the world. All trace of her usual joy and fairy-like good looks were gone, replaced with pale skin, deep bags, and eyes red, clearly from weeping. Her hair was a mess, it was evident it hadn't been treated in days. If it weren't for the fact this was definitely an official broadcast, many would have assumed this was just an imposter.

Histy tried to speak, but it seemed that every time she tried, her words were swallowed by quiet sobs. This went on for 3 minutes. 3 minutes more. 

She finally overcame it, blurting out her intended message.

"Nepgear has been killed."

The camera crashed to black. The crowd began murmuring. "How could this happen? CPUs can't die", "Not Nepgear, I loved Nepgear", "This can't be real" were some of the sounds Compa could make out.

3 minutes.

The camera came back, this time static. The crowd fell silent.

3 minutes more. The sight that appeared shook Planeptune, and the world, to it's core.

It was Nepgear, dressed up in funeral wear and lying peacefully on a ceremonial altar.

It was real. Nepgear was gone.

Compa couldn't stand to look at it. She faced away and quickly began sobbing. Her GeGe was gone, forever. Never coming back. She'd never see her cute little face peek around the corner of her door. She'd never babysit her. Never snuggle up with her alongside IF. Never visit her to hear her talk for hours about robots.

Never.

She couldn't handle it. While the crowd was transfixed on the monitor, Compa was on her knees, a broken, weeping mess. IF took off her coat, sweaty as it was, and wrapped it around her. She sat down beside her girlfriend, rubbing her head and patting her back protectively. She'd seen Compa cry before, but never like _this_. IF lifted Compa to her feet, and quickly escorted her back home. She had no idea what she'd do when they GOT there, but she had to get her far away from a crowd. Somewhere where she could reassure her privately. She hated seeing Compa so upset, the rest of Planeptune didn't need to see her like this either. Not that they would, considering they were too focused on Nepgear.

Nepgear.

IF had completely forgotten about Nepgear.

It hit her too. Sadness. Loneliness. Regret.

She'd basically raised Nepgear when neptune couldn't. Taught her how to fight, make things, look after herself. She even sparked her interest in electronics. Yet for the past 5 years, she'd barely spoken to her, and now she never would.

IF collapsed, Compa going with her. Both of them started crying into one another, making no attempts to hold back their sadness. Thankfully for them, they'd broken down beside a path most usually avoid, so there were no passers-by to witness them.

After what felt like an age, the waterworks had dried up and the two finally managed to (barely) stand up. They made their way back to Compa's clinic, both of them basically carrying one another due to how weakened they felt. They didn't last long when they got in the door. Reaching the couch, both of them collapsed from exhaustion. At the very least, they were comfortable in here.

Whether they were safe or not was another matter entirely.


	5. Part 1.8: Release

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uni leads Vert down a very bleak path.

"So you're saying that Noire did it?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

Uni and Vert were alone in a small room, with little but a desk, a computer, and two chairs.

After Histoire forcibly pried Uni from Nepgear, this was where Uni went. Not home, not to the wilderness, not back to Nepgear. Here.  
Uni knew that Vert adored Nepgear, almost as much as Uni herself. The moment Uni's senses returned to her, she knew one thing; that her sister had to pay. Uni, however, was not a strong CPU. She could maybe inconvenience Noire in her human form, but as soon as Black Heart came out, it was game over. So Uni turned to the only CPU she could trust right now: Vert. 

Vert loved Nepgear. Everyone knew it, it was Gamindustri's worst kept secret. From time to time, Uni was teased about it. It never bothered her at all, however. Uni knew that Nepgear only saw Vert as an older sister type, and not romantically. Her mind, therefore, was always at ease when she knew they were together. All it would take to get Vert on her side were the words "Noire killed Nepgear".

From Vert's expression, Uni could see that it worked perfectly. Vert was holding her mouse in a death grip, her arms shaking and her face contorting whilst trying to fight back tears. She failed, though, and the tears quickly came pouring.  
Uni moved from her seat and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which was naught but an empty gesture intended to get Vert on her side. She didn't care about Vert, or her wellbeing, or anything else. She just wanted vengeance for Nepgear, at any cost.

After 5 or 6 minutes of weeping, Vert steeled herself and stood up. Grabbing Uni by the shoulders, she stared right into her core with a gaze composed of purely hatred.  
"Stay here for tonight. Tomorrow, we march to Lastation and make Noire _pay_. We need justice for Nepgear" Her words were devoid of their usual elegance, in it's place was anger and bloodthirst.

Uni nodded. "Justice for Nepgear."

Turning away from Vert, Uni unleashed the smile she had been suppressing. She did it. She turned Vert to her side with three simple words.  
Her plan to leave the room ASAP was delayed by Vert stepping in front of her. This time, Vert placed a gentle, almost protective hand on Uni's fce.  
"Since we'll be dismantling Lastation, I have a proposal." Vert leaned in close to Uni.  
"I propose that we induct you as Green Sister." She said, a little too calmly.

Uni was torn. VERY torn. She wanted vengeance on Noire, yeah, but to dismantle her homeland and switch sides felt... wrong.  
"I'll do it" Uni replied hastily. She didn't mean it, of course. She was simply delaying in order to formulate a better plan.  
"Excellent, I'll make preparations with Chika in the morning." Vert placed a small kiss on Uni's forehead and nudged her on her way.

Tomorrow was the day. 

Tomorrow was the day Noire died.


	6. Part 2: Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two old forces face off, and Noire realizes the true power of the Gehaburn.

**10:30am**

Noire barely had time to wake herself up before things went to hell.

Forced to get up, ready and awake within 5 minutes by Kei, it took Noire 10 minutes to realize her and the sword had been recovered. Rushed out of her room and to the main room, Noire came face to a large screen. Often used for video conferences between nations, it had sat unused for months now.

"Vert sent this message an hour ago. She's matching on Lastation in 20 minutes."

Kei felt around under the monitor, stopping once her fingers met a small switch.

Click.

The screen whirred to life, signified by a quiet whine and a blue light on the bottom center. The screen slowly filled with colour, eventually displaying a paused video baring Vert on it.

Another click. The video began.

"Attention Lastation inhabitants, I have an important message for you." The image of Vert on the screen was looking smug, almost sadistic. She cleared her throat.  
"Your CPU and Goddess, Noire, has been charged with the unprovoked murder of our dearest, dearest Nepgear. Right in front of her sister and lover, too. Leanbox, as a proud and just nation, can NOT let this injustice stand. In one hour and thirty minutes, Leanbox forces and yours truly will march on Lastation. Those who surrender will be allowed to live in peace under the new Leanbox rule. Those who resist will be punished, and released back into society eventually." Vert paused for a moment, her smile growing even colder and even more arrogant.  
"On my left here, we have my new darling; the Green Sister." Uni stepped into view from the shadows, now wearing clothing in green and gold; the colours of Leanbox.

"She shall be joining the nation of Leanbox, having defected from Lastation out of disgust at the gross injustice CPU Black Heart had committed. With that, I bid you all good day." Vert leaned close to the camera and placed a finger underneath it, killing the video.

 _CPU Black Heart_ Noire pondered. _Nobody has called me that in years._

She was snapped out her thoughts by Kei placing a hand on her shoulder.

"With your permission, I'll mobilise the Lastation Armed Forces immediately."

Noire nodded, Kei nodded in turn and immediately left the office.

War was on their doorstep. Two days ago the world was fine, and Noire had spent her mornings thinking of how much of Lastation's budget she could secretly allocate to her gifts and cosplay fund. Now, she had to pray to the True Goddess that none of her citizens would come to harm. There was only one way she could truly ensure that.

Noire took a deep sigh. This was a course of action she didn't even want to consider, but it was the only one. Leaving the room, Noire did a triple check on her surroundings. Nobody was around. Good.  
Moving slowly, carefully, and almost gently, Noire headed to the vault. The sword would be there. The sword could, at the very least, act as a deterrent against the Leanbox forces. It was no secret that Goddesses were very hard, so the idea that one could be killed in one attack would likely stir fear in anyone facing said force.

The Basilicom was unnervingly quiet. Often plagued by the sounds of busy officials, machinery, or guards doing training exercises, these sounds were instead replaced by silence. Not the kind of silence that invites calmness and thoughtfulness, no, the kind of silence that invokes paranoia and fear. An evil silence, in a way. Certain that nobody was around, Noire accelerated to a light jog.

The vault was a cold, empty, and dusty place. Not much was kept here, save for old furniture, junk weapons Noire had picked up on her adventures with the CPUs, and... That.

Sitting in a glass weapon case, emanating malice and dread, was the Gehaburn. The foul weapon that had appeared in a Lastation digsite not long ago. The atrocity that had taken Nepgear's life... yet ultimately the weapon that will protect Lastation.  
Noire sighed. This wasn't what she, or anyone, wanted. But it was what **_had_** to be done.

The case that held the Gehaburn wasn't secured at all. Noire retrieved the sword by simply opening the front and taking it out. _I'll need to fix that if I make it back_ She thought. _Something this terrible needs to be locked up tight._

Holding the sword always felt... strange, to Noire. The cross guard, pommel and grip were designed in such a way that holding it was uncomfortable and, at times, incredibly _alien_. Whoever forged this blade obviously didn't intend for it to be comfortable to wield.

But it had to be done.

**10:50am**

Noire stood on the border of Lastation, backed by over 5000 troops and various war machines. Thunder was approaching, and rain had already began lashing down from the heavens. It didn't bother Noire at all. All she could focus on now was victory and survival. The rain was an inconvenience, it would not be an hindrance.

After 10 minutes of standing, they appeared.

Green Heart appeared from the skies, backed by a marching armor of green armour-clad troops. Roughly 5000 of them, not counting artillery or any other vehicles. _So this was the force that wanted to occupy Lastation_ Noire thought. _Today they shall occupy a grave, instead_

Green Heart landed across the border, close enough that Noire could hear her every word but distant enough that she still felt far away.

"So the mighty Black Heart decided to face me herself. I had figured that you'd hide behind your army, seeing as you were so backhanded and cowardly in attacking Nepgear pre-emptively." Green Heart's voice was dripping with venom. It was evident, to Noire at least, that she was fighting back a burning fury.

"But whether you fight at the front or the back matters not, dear Black heart. Today, you shall die either way."

Die? So Vert was definitely going that route.

Noire gripped the hilt of the sword and met Green Heart's stare. "We don't need to fight, Vert-"

"THAT'S LADY GREEN HEART, TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU." Green Heart's fury wasn't doing a good job at staying hidden. She noticed this, and cleared her throat a little before continuing.  
"You said it yourself when we signed the friendship treaty. "Violence begets violence, so the only way to end the cycle is to ensure all swords are sheathed." By raising your sword against Nepgear, it's my duty to raise my spear against you to ensure this never happens again."

Uni was listening in the distance. Far enough that Noire would barely notice, but close enough to BARELY make out what she was saying. Doubt entered her heart the moment she realized that Vert intended to _kill_ Noire. Sure, she might have murdered her lover in a freak accident, but she didn't have to die... Did she?

"Vert. I will ask you once, and only once." Noire raised the sword, and pointed it straight at Vert's army. "If you wish to fight me, then I only that we fight as equals, and not as goddesses."  
Vert showed no response. For a moment, Noire thought she spoke too quietly. That is, until Vert started laughing. Not just a normal laugh, but _weeping_ with laughter.

"Dearest Noire, you really are naive. No wonder Neptune called you Silly-Heart." _That comment was uncalled for. You should rip out her tongue_ Where did that voice come from? It definitely wasn't a soldier, none of them would DARE say that to a Goddess.

Her thoughts were completely derailed by Vert raising her spear in turn to Noire. "MARCH!" The command came out harshly, and coldly.

War had come to Lastation. 

Vert immediately lunged towards Noire, fast enough to almost throw her off guard. She dodged to the side, transforming mid flip.

Vert turned back to her and smiled a little. "I guess we are fighting on equal terms now, Black Heart."

Black Heart.

_Black Heart_

**_Black Heart_ **

Noire lunged towards Vert, fire in her eyes. "MY. NAME. IS. **NOIRE** "

Her sword came crashing down, with Vert only catching it against her spear by a split second. Vert backed off, and launched a barrage of projectiles towards Noire. They did nothing, for the Gehaburn bounced them off without so much as reacting.  
As soon as the projectile horde cleared, Noire accelerated, aiming directly for Vert's midsection. Vert managed to dodge to the side at the last second, but it was too late to make it a complete dodge. Part of the Gehaburn clipped one of her wings, which soon depowered and fell helplessly towards the ground.

For 45 minutes, this battle continued. Graceful, dance-like moves quickly devolved into brutal slashes aimed to kill and energy attacks hot enough to ignite the oxygen around it. Elegant special attacks become flurries of stabs and cuts that served only to hurt, not impress.

Vert made a mistake. An awful mistake, that would cost her. Dodging underneath one of Noire's slashes, she readied her spear to thrust, yelling "FOR NEPGEAR!" The effect this had on Noire was... not pleasant.

In an instant, Noire had turned around, swiping wildly at Vert. She wasn't so luck with her blocks this time. A few attacks were successfully parried, but many got through. Vert's other wing was gone, and there were several nasty scars on her arms and chest. Noire was not so lucky, either. Vert's spear had punctured her left shoulder and her right thigh. Several V shaped marks were littered across her neck and shoulders to boot.

Both of them exhausted, they finally lowered their weapons. Noire was the first to speak up.

"Why are we doing this, Vert? Enacting war for vengeance? For "justice"? There's no justice in more death. Killing me won't bring back Nepgear, and you **know** Uni won't really convert to you. Give it up."

Vert's response was surprising. Noire expected her to lash out in a fury, or start crying like a drama queen. Instead Vert... Vert laughed. A bitter laugh, a defeated laugh, a helpless laugh.

"You think I don't know that? Because I do, Black Heart. I know Nepgear isn't coming back. I know I'll never have a little sister. But if I acknowledge that, then what purpose do I have left? Clinging to Nepgear kept me alive, and if clinging to her memory gives me purpose, then that is what I will do."

Noire sighed, and a stray tear fell from her eye. There was no convincing her to put down her spear. Damn it. DAMN IT. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Noire wanted to be _friends_ with Vert. Noire wanted to laugh at her ridiculous gaming habits, Noire wanted to talk anime with her, Noire wanted to talk about cute girls with her, _Noire wanted her to live_.

But there was no surviving for one of them, and Noire... Noire had a job to do. For better or for worse, peace was the ultimate objective.

Noire raised her sword, ready for battle. Vert responded in kind, weakly lifting the battered remains of her spear. Below them, a battle was fought. Yet, there were rarely any casualties.

See, unbeknownst to the two CPUs, their forces were holding back. While they had been trained to defend, war was so uncommon in Gamindustri that almost NONE of them had or wanted to kill. So they held back. Non-lethal shots, deliberate misses. Even the tank commanders and artillery sighters were aiming far off.

Noire stood posed, ready to fight. She prepared her wings for take off and-

A small sound came from the distance. A whistling sound. Noire and Vert both turned their gaze. It escalated from a whistle, to a whine, to a whail, to a loud, banshee-like screech. Noire and Vert barely had any time to cover their ears when the plasma shot came. The force was strong enough to completely depower the two goddesses. In their frail human forms, they tried to resist it's push, but they failed. It threw the two goddesses towards the ground. Through the ground. Deep, deep underground. 

The opposing forces stood in shock, weapons lowered and heads raised to the sky. In the middle of the field, Uni appeared, standing transformed and tall.

"Here my words and know mercy; Both sides shall return to their homeland AT ONCE, or face the wrath of Lastation." She turned her gaze towards her Lastation forces. "That includes you."

The two forces, shocked by the instant takedown of two goddesses, immediately complied and marched home. At the very least, Uni had saved the two nations from further turmoil.

She only hoped that Vert and Noire would do so as well.

**11:30pm**

Most of Noire was numb, but the few fragments of her that still held feeling were burning. Her impact had not been a soft one. More concerned with where she was than how she felt, Noire defiantly shook her body awake. Feeling slowly returned to one of her legs and both of her arms, but the right leg was still numb. It mattered not, Noire had to get out her.

Slowly and carefully, Noire raised herself up, causing the rocks that were covering her to fall from her. She was in a cave, that much was evident. A very large cave, too. 

Wait. What was that? Noire stilled herself, taking care to not make a sound. It was... breathing, heavy breathing, coming from... the cave in front of her?

Not like she had much left to lose by investigating, Noire limped into the adjoining cave , only to be greeted by the sight of a broken and blooded Vert, kneeling besides the Gehaburn. Did she risk rushing in and taking it, or did she approach Vert peacefully?

Opting for the latter, Noire slowly and weakly limped towards Vert. Trying to be as quiet as possible, Noire approached from the side. Vert's head was completely bowed, so there was little chance of her being caught. 

As if she'd directly tempted fate, Vert spoke up. "I know you're there, Black Heart. I'm not hostile, don't worry."

Was it a trap? She didn't have much choice. Moving to the other side of the sword, Noire sat down, legs in a basket, in front of Vert. Vert reached for the sword, and Noire instinctively backed away. To her surprise, she planted it in the dirt and moved towards Noire, empty handed.

Gently wrapping her arms around Noire's waist and burrowing herself into her lap, Vert let out an almost contented sigh. Noire, however, was mentally flipping out. Why did Vert go from wanting to eviscerate her in the name of "justice" to snuggling up with her?

Vert closed her eyes and developed a tiny, happy little smile.

"You know, Black Heart, I think there's something I forgot to tell you." Vert opened her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes, and stared right at Noire. "I... my Sharicite doesn't allow for the creation of CPU Candidates. I can never have a little sister. That's why I took Chika on board. I can manage the goddess system just fine by myself. I... I just really wanted some company." Vert's smile was gone, replaced with a look of emptiness. "That's... that's why I clinged to Nepgear so much. She gave me attention and love. When I was sad, she'd turn up on my balcony with her cute little face and her reassuring voice asking "Hey Lady Vert, is everything okay?" And when she was around, everything WAS okay. Everything was fine. Nepgear was so much more to me than just a little sister. She was my sun, my stars, and the reason I stayed in this world for so long."

Vert removed her arms from Noire's waist, and clasped them in front of her.

Her expression had changed; there was no life to it. Her eyes were staring into the abyss, and her mouth made no movements except to speak. She was barely even breathing.

"Nepgear is gone now, and I know Uni, Rom or Ram will never take me as their sister. Chika is mortal, and though the goddess system doubles the lifespan of mortals, they will still expire. I am, for all intents and purposes, alone in this world." Vert let out a heavy, disappointed sigh, and stood up. She turned her back to Noire, and walked over to the sword. Noire could clearly see the wounds she'd sustained; There was a huge gaping wound on her lower back, still bleeding intensely. But wounds were the least of both of their worries.

Vert leaned on the sword, before standing upright and placing her hands over the pommel.

"We goddesses... wounds are nothing to us, really. Lost skin will grow, lost limbs will rejoin their partner, even death is temporary for us. But this sword... it can kill goddesses, right?" Vert lifted the sword out of the ground, and stared at it's blade.

Vert's gaze suddenly turned from empty to warm, and welcoming.

"Black Heart... I want you to kill me."

"WHAT?!"

Those were the first words Noire had spoken in hours.

"I'm not going to kill you. I don't WANT to. I don't NEED to. You don't need to die, Vert. Nobody does."

Vert met Noire's declaration with a laugh.

"Black Heart, you were always so serious and stubborn. No wonder Neptune always called you Silly Heart. But nonetheless." Vert cleared her throat, coughing up some blood in the process.

"This sword is called the Gehaburn, I'm sure you know that. But I did some research after it was excavated. It feeds on the lifeblood of the strong; meaning Goddesses. If you're so determined to bring peace to Gamindustri, well... there can be no peace whilst there are goddesses and nations. I've thought about this for a while. If you care about last wishes..." Vert's posture fell, she now resembled a weak dishevelled woman barely clinging to life.

"Don't let my death or Nepgear's be in vain. Make a world that she'd be proud of." Vert's arms and legs gave way, and she collapsed onto her knees.

Noire didn't want to do this. Every fibre of her being was protesting against it. But deep down, she knew Vert was _right_. For all their proclaimed goodness, the Goddesses constantly brought turmoil and conflict to Gamindustri. If they truly cared about the people of Gamindustri... they had to leave.

Reluctantly, Noire moved to the sword and picked it up. Kneeling down besides Vert, she placed a reassuring hand on her cheek.

"I will always remember you as a friend, Vert. I hope the world remembers you as you always were, lovely heart."

Vert smiled weakly at Noire's words. Even though it caused her great agony to do so, she moved her hand and placed it over Noire's.

"Lovely Heart... that's such a Neptune thing to say." Vert sighed. "There's a letter for Chika in my desk. Please make sure it reaches her, I'd hate for her to get the wrong idea. And please, please." Vert coughed up more blood.

"Please make sure that, at the end of all this, whatever the end may be, please make sure that you find love and peace too, Noire."

Vert's words provoked a small smile from Noire. In the back of her mind, she wished that she could've heard those last few words under better circumstances.

Noire lifted Vert up with one arm, wrapping it around her torso so that she could at least die upright. With the sword in the other hand, she closed her eyes and readied herself for what was to come.

SCHUNK.

That familiar feeling came back. The rending of flesh, sinew and bone. Noire could feel the life slowly but surely exit Vert's body. Within a minute, the green Goddess no longer inhabited her body.

Vert was dead. The Gehaburn had extinguished another life. Noire could almost feel it strengthen itself. The blade grew larger, and it's smooth edge became subtly serrated. The hilt seemed to realign itself to better suit Noire's hand.

But for now, Noire wanted nothing to do with it. She tossed the sword aside, and laid Vert's body down peacefully. Straightening out her hair, and the creases in her dress, Noire wanted to make sure she didn't look desecrated after death. She examined the surrounding area, and found the remnants of Vert's spear in the rubble where she presumably fell.

She holstered the fragments on her back, and picked Vert up in a bridal carry. Even if it incriminated her, Noire was going to ensure Vert had a proper burial.

As she turned to leave the cave, however, Uni made her presence known. Noire almost dropped Vert to prepare for a fight, but before she could do that, Uni stepped closer to reveal her wearing Lastation's colours again.

"I... I heard everything Noire. I'll come back, even if it means punishment."

Noire scoffed mockingly. "As if I'd punish you, doofus." Her usual snarky tone was back, if only for a moment.

Uni smiled a little and followed behind Noire as they left the cave system.  
"Sis, I... look, if you think we can bring peace to Gamindustri, I want to help... but can we look for other ways first? I... I really don't want to think about killing the twins."

Noire stopped in her tracks for a moment, before continuing her stride. "We will hunt peaceful means first. This sword isn't a weapon, it's a tool. A last resort. Not used for disagreements or for matters of justice. We will seal it in the vaul- No. We will build a new vault for it, and it will stay there until we need it. Until then, we shall use every method of negotiation and manipulation that Lastation can muster. Peace by any means is our new goal."

Even though Noire couldn't see it, Uni nodded in agreement.

_Peace for Gamindustri, at any cost._


	7. Part 2.2: Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rei Ryghts makes her first appearance in the land of the living.

Lastation. The land of Black Regality and Mechanical Mastery. Coming into existence roughly 100 years after the fall of Tari, Black Heart's nation entered the world amidst great competition between Planeptune and Lowee. In spite of the fact the two strongest (and only) nations in Gamindustri were breathing down her back at any opportunity, Black Heart's nation flourished and embedded itself within the market. Sitting unchallenged for many years, it wouldn't actually face a threat until the nation of Leanbox rose 20 years later.

It's funny, in a way. In spite of their business rivalry, the two had a certain respect for one another. Now the news had broke that Green Heart had been defeated in battle by Black Heart and requested a mercy killing. How things change.

Rei walked slowly through the slums of Lastation. "Slums" was inaccurate, as the inhabitants of this part of the city were incredibly well off. Due to Black Heart's obsession with keeping everything centralised, most of the heavy machinery and factories were closer to the capital than in most other nations. These parts were still liveable, but they weren't luxury.

Of course, Rei didn't really care about how they lived. Her sights were set on the Basilicom. She could have flown there, but in a political situation like the one currently facing Lastation, the presence of another CPU might complicate things. That, and she wasn't entirely sure if she could transform. Spending 400 odd years aboard a small island did not do Rei's power any favours. For the moment, being mistaken for a measly human was enough for her.

Rei picked up her pace. Staying surrounded by so many common humans was making her feel disgusted and agitated, and she had to be **exceptionally** calm for this. Within a few minutes she was at the train station. Excellent, it was quiet.

Just in time, too. A train came into view and pulled into the station, with the station announcer booming out the stops. Annie-macks, Knotty Dog, Cone-mami... Lastation, the capital and namesake of this nation. Boarding the train, Rei immediately eyed a vacant seat and fell into it. Discarding her coat and placing it in her satchel, now all that had to be done was wait.

Many thoughts crossed her mind as the train made it's way to Lastation. Mostly about her former nation, Tari. Once the only and mightiest nation in Gamindustri, now it was a myth whispered to children. Rei wasn't even sure it was in the history books, as it was 80 years after the crash until another nation was founded, and most of the area around Tari was scorched of life, so it was unlikely anyone carried it's legacy.

It was an accident that Rei survived. She had greatly misjudged the seismic activity that her spell would cause, and she fell from her mighty tower onto the rocks below. Battered, broken, bloody, and wracked with sudden guilt over what she'd done, she threw herself into the ocean, hoping this would be the end of things.

It wasn't. Rei learned the hard way that CPUs are tied to the fabric of this world and cannot die normally. For days, months, even /years/, Rei lay at the bottom of the ocean, content to live out her exile and punishment. For 100 years. One day, however, she hit a rock, and she started to climb. Fighting against the pull of ocean, she climbed, and climbed, and climbed. Eventually, Rei surfaced into the world of the living once more. A small family that had been living outside of the goddess system took her in and looked after her.

The words they'd speak always stuck with Rei. "We're fine without goddesses, we don't need them." They weren't wrong, either. In spite of living by themselves, on a tiny island, they were completely fine. They had a little farm to survive off of, and the island was tiny, but it had a sizeable forest.

Through them Rei Ryghts found purpose. That purpose being to ensure the world could be free and beautiful without the influence of Goddesses. Even after they had passed, even after their bloodline ended completely. That was what she told herself, at least. 

In truth, Rei Ryghts' one desire was to find the peace of death.

The train came to a stop. "WE HAVE NOW ARRIVED AT LASTATION." As she departed the train, the mighty Basilicom came into view. Walking through Lastation's proud, beautiful streets, Rei's gaze could not be shifted from the tower before her.

Here, Rei would begin the liberation of this world.

Here, Rei would find the death she deserved.


	8. Part 2.4: Funeral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vert and Nepgear are laid to rest in their respective nations.

**Planeptune, 1:35pm**

Even in death, Nepgear was still wearing that smile of hers. The warm, loving smile that always appeared on her face whenever she saw Uni. The smile that, on occasion, Uni would see waking up. Days where Nepgear was her first and last sight were often the best of days.

Today was the last time she'd ever see it. Histoire, even in the worst of situations, was not vindictive. Invitations to the funeral were sent to Lastation for Noire, Kei and Uni. Noire, for obvious reasons, turned it down. Uni didn't even read the invitation before setting off.

The location of the funeral was a nice little area. It was a small forested segmented directly behind the Basilicom. Nepgear and Uni often came here on walks with another. This was the location where Nepgear first heard the words "I love you", and it was the first time her lips met Uni's. It was a special place to them both as a result, Nepgear had even joked to Uni on occasion that they should get married. Instead, this was where one would bury the other. 

The funeral wasn't very populated. IF, Compa, Neptune, Histoire and Rom + Ram were all present. To Uni's surprise, none of them treated her terribly. IF and Compa even took time out to reassure her that nobody blamed her personally. While their words were nice, Uni couldn't really shake the feeling that this could have been averted if she had sprung into action sooner. But it was far, far too late for that now. Nepgear was dead, never to come back.

Histoire flew up beside the coffin, evidently to make to say something. Departing her tome and standing on two weak legs, Histoire tried her hardest to seem a little dignified. 

"Today we're gathered in remembrance of our beloved Nepgear. I... admittedly don't have much to say, other than that her passing has filled with me an unmatched amount of sorrow. Does... does anyone else have anything to say?" Histoire's words were forced and awkward. it was clear that she really didn't want to be here. Uni imagined that nobody did. Turning up meant acknowledging that Nepgear was, indeed, gone forever.

Nobody moved. Nobody stood up. Uni couldn't even hear anyone breathing. _Now or never_ , she thought. 

She stood up slowly, looking around to see if anyone else would. Nope. Sigh, what had to be had to be done.

Uni rose fully from her seat, and took the podium. Histoire sat on the corner of the podium, gazing up at Uni with thankful eyes.

She shot a gaze towards Nepgear's coffin, but quickly averted her eyes for fear of crying. Now wasn't the time for tears. 

Uni cleared her throat, straightened her back and steeled herself. 

"I... I loved Nepgear. Anyone who knows me and anyone with eyes could probably have figured that out. But regardless, I had to say it here. I often woke up in the morning just in the hope that I'd see her that day. When I went to bed, she was usually on my mind." Unbeknownst to her, Neptune was listening attentively, and she was smiling a little. "You might call me obsessed, and truth be told I probably am. But it doesn't matter to me. I loved her, and... and the stars of this world are shining a lot less brightly now that she's no longer among us." Uni was crying as she spoke, but she wasn't even aware it. Stepping away from the podium, Uni approached Nepgear's coffin and planted a final kiss on her lover's forehead. Before pulling away completely, Uni whispered "I love you, Nepgear."

And with that, the tears came out in full. Uni fell to the ground, letting free all the tears that had accumulated over the past few days. Nobody was really sure what to do. Their surprise was great when _Neptune_ of all people helped to her feet, held her into her shoulder, and escorted her inside.

The procession went on without them. Nepgear was buried in front of a large tree, surrounded by a bed of purple roses. The inscription of her grave read;

_Here lies the Purple Sister of Planetpune: Nepgear_

_Beloved by all, treasured by many_  
The ending of her life shall be mourned for generations  
Rest in peace 

Inside, Neptune took surprisingly good care of Uni. Her tears were dried, she was offered a comfortable seat, even offered some tea. It was... uncharacteristic of Neptune to be like this. Was it? Uni had always been closer to Nepgear. Her interactions with Neptune boiled down to the older sister commenting on how cute the two were.

Uni was feeling a little bit restless. This was location where Nepgear was killed. How did she know it wasn't a trap?

As if reading her mind, Neptune took a seat beside Uni. "I don't blame you" she said flatly. "Don't worry, I'm not smart enough to pull off a trap either." Neptune sighed. In contrast to her usual self, her words and movements were lethargic, devoid of life. Almost pitiful, in a sense. Neptune slumped into the sofa, practically melding with it on some level.

"Can you pass a message on for me, Uni? It's... It's for Noire." Emotion had returned to Neptune's voice. It sounded like... Guilt?  
"tell Noire... tell Lonely Heart that I don't blame her either. Something was so wrong that day, I felt it and so did Histy. Just tell her I don't blame her, and that I kinda miss her, okay? If she wants to stop on by to talk or be tsundere or whatever, tell her it's okay." Neptune smiled. Judging from how much effort she put into it, Uni figured that this was her first smile since Nepgear died.

"Okay. I'll tell her." As soon as the words left her mouth, Uni was glomped by the older Nep sister. Pulling back, Neptune beamed at Uni.  
"Thank you, Black Sister. Now, you better get going before the ghost of Nepgear comes back and starts accusing me of shacking up with you."

Oh Neptune, ever the inappropriate one. Still, it was a little reassuring to see she was still her old self. In hindsight, Uni realized she was likely putting on an act, but it was nonetheless nice to see she had enough strength to do even that.

On the other side of the world, a similar event was taking place.

**Leanbox, 2:30pm**

Much to their surprise, the Lastation trio received invites to Vert's funeral as well, signed and stamped by Chika herself. Since Uni was at Nepgear's, and Noire was still wracked with guilt from killing her just several hours prior, only Kei was left to go and visit. This was likely for the best; Chika and Kei knew one another personally.

There was a surprising turnout to Vert's funeral. Blanc, Mina, Kei, Chika, Cave, 5pb., MAGES., and MarvelousAQL had all appeared. Kei was surprised, Vert was known to be a massive loner with no friends. A harsh observation, but there was no evidence against it till now.

Everyone was surprising gentle with Chika. The two blue haired sisters gave her a cuddle as soon as they arrived, Blanc + Mina had brought with them a plush doll of Vert as a gift to her. Kei thought it one of Plutia's, but the craftmanship was amateur. It was likely they made it themselves. Marvelous brought with nothing with her, but extended an offer of support and comfort whenever needed.

It was touching, in a way. All of them clearly cared about Chika's wellbeing, and there was worry in their expression all throughout their interactions. Kei decided to forego her usual coldness for the moment. Just this once.

Approaching Chika and putting a hand on her shoulder, Kei decided to do the only thing she knew.

"Chika, I know now isn't the best time, but we need to discuss Leanbox's future." Chika looked up from the floor and into Kei's eyes. "You'll have to rule Leanbox in Vert's stead. It'll be difficult, very difficult. But... well, if you ever need assistance, or support, please call Lastation and ask for me directly. I am a very busy woman, but you're a friend and I will put anything on hold to help you, alright?"

In truth, Kei was expecting to be ignored, or even slapped. After all, the Oracle of the nation responsible for Vert's death just offered her help.

Instead, Chika took Kei's hand in hers, offering a happy smile and a sincere "Thank you". A surprising gesture, but a sweet one at that.

Kei checked her watch. 2:45pm, it was time for the procedure to begin. Everyone was herded through a small fielded area in the Basilicom's back yard, to a hilltop. There lay Vert, dressed in her finest dress and laid in a coffin crafted from the finest wood the forests of Leanbox could produce. She looked surprisingly at peace, which definitely fit with the debriefing Uni gave (Noire was still semi-catatonic from the deed, so Uni filled Kei and the board in).

Everyone took their seats without delay. It was a surprisingly simple setup, completely in contrast to Leanbox's usual over-the-topness and flair for the exquisite. Chika approached the podium, although her movements were dripping with reluctance. 

She cleared her throat, and looked down at the speech she had prepared. For a few moments, she looked over what she had prepared. She couldn't do this. Chika tossed the paper aside.

"Yesterday, my- _Our_ Dearest Vert was taken from us. Today, we lay her beautiful spirit to rest. It's not something I do willingly, nor something I wanted to even acknowledge. In truth, I had hoped that I would wake up this morning and discover it was all a dream. Alas, life isn't that merciful. Now, would anyone like to come up and say anything?" It was clear Chika had something else in mind, but she was on the verge of tears and obviously didn't want to break down in front of everyone.

To Kei's surprise, once more, almost everyone save for MAGES. prepared to stand up, but they were beaten to the punch by Blanc.

The Lowee CPU was wearing her usual outfit, but in Black and with no fur. The black aesthetic suited her. Blanc took the podium, gave Chika a reassuring pat on the back, and took her hat off as a sign of respect. Chika departed from the podium, and took a seat between MAGES. and 5pb. who had split from sitting together to give her company. Everyone was being so nice, Kei was feeling a little disorientated.

Everyone's attention shifted from Chika to Blanc when the tiny CPU cleared her throat. All eyes were on her now.

"I know you're likely all surprised that I attended this funeral. The public image of Lowee and Leanbox has always been of two nations with a bitter rivalry. Which has some truth to it, I suppose. But in spite of what anyone else though, I held a great respect for Vert. She was ridiculous, yes, but that ridiculous charm was one of her defining features. Vert was... Vert was, at her core, a good person. A genuine person. While some thought her affection towards the Candidates was inappropriate, she was never anything but protective and caring. If Rom, Ram, Uni or... Nepgear, were here, they could likely attest. Even around others, Vert was kind and beautiful. I can recall many moments where she took in a friend and looked after them in times of need, and one in particular sticks out in her mind." Blanc hesitated for a moment, as saying what she wanted to say would probably be a little too reveal. It didn't really matter in the end, though. For many people, this WOULD be their most vulnerable moment.  
Blanc cleared her throat again, noticing she'd become a little choked up.

"Once, during a long and harsh winter, I'd fallen incredibly ill, so had Rom and Ram. Mina couldn't focus on all of us. Vert... well, Vert completely dropped everything to come look after all 3 of us. Like a doting mother, she wouldn't leave us alone until we were 100% fine. What's important about this instance is that we were /competing/. I'd just released the Lowee U, and Vert was about to launch the Leanbox one. Instead, she delayed the release without hesitation, prompt or prior thought. Of course, I _had_ to ask her about this. Her response stuck with me for a long time, and I have to admit it was the motivating factor for me to get closer to my fellow CPUs."  
Blanc rubbed her eyes. She'd let a few tears loose during her speech.

""Friends matter more than progress, Blanc". That was what she told me. Even though it could've damaged her nation, this woman, this beautiful selfless woman, dropped _everything_ to ensure those who may have been her enemies were okay. That says everything about Vert really, doesn't it? The woman had a wonderful presence, and a wonderful life. Now that her beautiful, radiant green flame has been extinguished, I honestly feel that this world has gotten a lot darker as a result. Rest in peace Vert, you will be dearly missed."

Tears were streaming down her face, but she was still talking coherently. It didn't matter much, since almost everyone had a few tears in their eyes. Even the usually stoic MAGES. had let a few loose, and Kei herself had trouble keeping some in. With that out of the way, Blanc returned to her seat besides Mina.

The funeral went on fairly quietly. Everyone said their piece, whilst also keeping a close eye on Chika. Kei actually felt genuinely, positively touched by their friendliness. Perhaps if the world was like this all the time, Nepgear and Vert would still be here.

Finally, Vert was lowered into the ground, free from this world. Seeing Vert go filled everyone present with an awful sense of loss. Blanc was right, the world really was darker as a result of this.

As everyone left, Mina stopped Kei before she could leave and took her aside. "Kei?" She spoke cautiously. "I'm not sure if you'll be free but... can you come visit the Lowee Basilicom tomorrow evening? We, you and I, need to talk personally. It's urgent."  
Before Kei had an opportuntiy to respond, Mina left. She was definitely in a rush, but for what reason Kei couldn't imagine. Regardless, Kei was going to visit Lowee.

She had a grim feeling that Mina knew something she didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The typo on Nepgear's grave was deliberate.


	9. Part 2.6: Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkness falls upon Gamindustri in multiple ways.

**Ultradimension Planeptune, 5:30pm**

"Noire. Did. _**What**_?" Plutia's voice was serious and tinged with rage. 

This was bad. Plutia never spoke coherently.

"Plutia, before you do anything, please think rationally about this." Little Histoire would do anything to quell Plutia's fury.

"There can't be any rationality, Histy. Noire killed Neppy Jr. We can't just LET her live with that. It's not right." Plutia and Iris Heart were slowly becoming one and the same here.

"We... I have to do something about this." Plutia rose from the table. With a click of the fingers and a flash of light, Iris Heart was upon the world once more. Her appearance this time was much more unsettling. Rather than expression of giddiness and sadistic glee, in it's place was an expression of **loathing**. This was **terrible**. Little Histoire felt a tinge of sympathy for the Hyperdimension Noire, as whatever was coming her way would make any force she stood against in the past seem like a breeze in comparison to Iris Heart's vengeful stampede.

"Rally the military. Tell them they're going to war in 12 hours. Oh, and fetch me a CPU memory from the vault. I have another idea." Not even bothering to wait for confirmation, Iris Heart strutted onto the balcony and flew into the skies.

A CPU Memory... Every fragment of Histoire's mind was screaming at her to refuse. But Histoire was the core of the Goddess system, and she had an existential obligation to comply with her CPU's orders.

The vault of the Ultradimension Planeptune was much different from the one in the Hyperdimension. Whilst the one in the Hyperdimension was home to various rare weapons, statues, and other antiques, the Ultradimension's was mostly packed with dolls. Thousands of dolls. In a nondescript corner, however, lay a small box. A plain black box, secured with a simple lock. Inside were 5 CPU memories, kept for extreme measures. Once, there were 6. Plutia, in her misguided generosity, decided to turn a random girl into Vert's little sister. The girl lived for 3 days, but her transformation into a CPU went awry, causing her human and goddess forms to merge. The result was... kept a secret from everyone, nobody needed to see that.

CPU memories _appear_ to remain intact as they age, but as Plutia and Histoire discovered, their effects grow more volatile as time goes on. Catching them within a month of their creation was the only way to ensure that the transformation, if it happened, went smoothly. 

Histoire navigated the room with ease, found the box, and hesitantly pocketed a CPU memory. In spite of being the pillar of the Goddess system, CPU memories felt incredibly unnatural to Histoire. She refused to hold one any longer than necessary. Proceeding hastily to Plutia's room, Histoire sat the CPU memory on the bed and prayed that Plutia wasn't going to do anything awful with it.

Peering into the Hyperdimension was a mistake... was it? Plutia would find out eventually. She made monthly visits to the Hyperdimension, so it's not like she could keep this a secret.

Still, if she had just not told Plutia about this she might've been able to calm her down.

Instead, all she could do was hope nobody else would die.

**Hyperdimension Planeptune outskirts, Compa's clinic. 1:20pm**

It was a quiet day in Compa's clinic. Ever since Nepgear died, every day was a quiet day. Aside from IF's company, nobody has visited her since then. The sounds of the radio dispelled the encroaching quiet, and a sole desk lamp was the only source of illumination.

The content from the radio was always the same; Reminders to pray to the goddess, advertisements for the latest games, recommendations for tourists. Rarely anything new. Compa was immersing herself in Neppit browsing, so she wasn't even _aware_ of the radio, or anything really. 

That was until IF came into the room, looking sadder than usual and... angry? For once.

She approached the desk, slumping against it and sinking her head into her arms.

"What's wrong, Iffy?" Compa's tone was caring and soft, punctuated further by gently placing an arm on IF's head.

IF lifted her head up, Compa's hand falling from her head to her cook. 

"I... Compa... I... I wanna make Noire _pay_. I wanna make her **pay** , Compa. She took Nepgear from us, but Goddesses can't die. We need to take her back." Dripping with venom, IF's words were hostile enough to turn the air cold.

Compa frowned at her girlfriend's words. "Iffy... I know it's hard, and it hurts me too, but Nepgear really is gone. We can't bring her back." She departed her seat, slid around the desk, and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.  
"It's okay though, Iffy. We're human so, in a way we won't wait long to see her again. I feel bad for the Goddesses, it's gonna be centuries for them." Even in situations like this, Compa still cared about everyone else.

Just then, the tone of the radio announcer changed drastically. First confusion, then panic, the words she spoke would change Gamindustri forever.

"Ladies and Gentleman I uh... it appears Planeptune forces from the alternate dimension have stationed themselves outside of Lastation and are ordering CPU Black Heart to surrender immediately. More on this as it develops."

As if on cue, Plutia appeared from out of the doorway. It took a few seconds for the two to notice her, but as soon as they made eye contact the atmosphere of the room changed.

"I was listening in on your conversation, little Compy and Iffy. I can help you out if you wanna make that meanie Noire pay."

Compa was about to protest, but IF spoke first. "I'll do it! What do you want? **ANYTHING** to get justice for Nepgear."  
With an evil satisfied smile, Plutia transformed into Iris Heart. "It's simple darling, you become a Goddess too. I have the means for that right here." Iris Heart opened her palm, revealing a small diamond shaped crystal with a CPU symbol on it. "Just close your eyes, stick out your tongue like a good girl, and you'll join our ranks. If- _when_ we win, I'll even give you Lastation."

As if she were a lapdog being given commands, IF forced her eyes closed and stuck her tongue out. Compa motioned to object, but it was too late. Iris Heart delicately placed the CPU Memory into IF's mouth, and gently tipped her head back to let her swallow.

A minute passed before the changes came. Violently.

IF collapsed to the ground, barely able to lift herself upright. Spasms and convulsions overtook her movements, and naught escaped her mouth but choking noises and pained whimpers. A deep blue flame washed over her body, enveloping it whole. IF was forcibly stretched to be a full foot taller. Every inch she grew brought forth agonized screams from IF's lips. Her outfit changed too; her coat and dress changing and shifting until they resembled an armored bodysuit, with the remains of the coat draped over it like a macabre cloak. Her hair changed; from a beautiful brown to a deep, royal blue. Once reaching only her shoulders, it was now reaching her waist, covering most of her back. Pointed yellow wings erupted from her back, resembling rays of crystalline lightning bolts arcing upwards towards the sky.

After the transformation was done, IF collapsed to her knees, exhausted and in agony. Iris Heart was surprised, she didn't expect this to go so smoothly. Compa was in a state of shock, albeit subconsciously glad her girlfriend wasn't harmed too m-

Smoke. Part of IF's face was smoking. The part that was exposed to the sun. Oh no.  
Compa immediately rushed to IF's side and dragged her out of the way of the sun. It was too late to avoid all damage, however. The left side of IF's face already suffered scarring and burns. She would recover, hopefully, but there was a chance that some of the damage would linger.

"IF? IF can you hear me?" IF was fading in and out of consciousness, her eyes shut and barely able to open. Compa patted her face a little, repeating her name over and over.  
After a few more moments of this, IF placed her hand over Compa's and opened her eyes.

Yellow, they were yellow. Her girlfriend's beautiful green eyes had been replaced by yellow imitators with that **damned** CPU symbol in them.

Slowly, and with great unease, IF rose to her feet. Iris Heart watched with glee, another CPU was ready to join her fight.

"My dear, you look gorgeous now. You really are fit to be a Goddess." For once Iris Heart was telling the truth; in spite of the facial scarring, IF's CPU form was still beautiful.  
"Now then my lovely IF, are you ready to take Lastation with me?"

IF stared at Iris Heart with an unplaceable expression. Equal parts furious and sad.

"I'm not IF any longer. I'm... I'm **_Blue Heart._** I am a powerful gust of dark fire that shall bring Gamindustri to it's knees, starting with CPU Black Heart. Let us work in the dark and erase the light. Justice for Nepgear shall be served in blood."


	10. Part 2.8: Failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Compa shares a moment with Blue Heart.

**Compa's clinic, 1:30am**

When they were younger, Compa spent many a moment patching up IF. Scraped knees, bruised knuckles, the occasional black eye from when she'd _somehow_ kick herself in the face. For anyone else the job would be tedious, but the love between the two ensured every moment was treasured.

Patching up Blue Heart was a completely different affair. A redundant one, in fact. Goddesses could heal from almost any wound save for the ones Noire inflicted. Compa knew this. Looking after Blue Heart was an attempt to cling to normality. Cute little band-aids over cuts, bandages over bullet wounds, cream for burns. All of those were pointless, they'd heal themselves soon, but for Compa this was important. She knew Blue Heart was different from IF, and took it upon herself to remind the new Goddess that she is human at her core.

The war with Noire was a messy one for all of Gamindustri. Blue Heart's presence only worsened matters. Leading a group of rejects and nefarious guild members, Blue Heart raised an army title Those Who Hate The Sun. Various guerilla attacks were carried out on Lastation forces, often during skirmishes between Lastation and Planeptune. Blue Heart's aversion to the sun, the namesake of the group, meant the force struck during night hours and retreated during day. Blue Heart would come to rest at Compa's clinic, as always.

After one particularly nasty showdown, resulting in another piece of Lastation being claimed by the opposition, Blue Heart turned up at Compa's clinic once more. Covered in the usual scrapes and holes, Compa only nodded and smiled before reaching for the first aid kit under the desk.

To her surprise, IF was in Blue Heart's place when she lifted her head. Her girlfriend definitely seemed... different, somehow. The scarring on her face had persisted, and she was swaying like a drunkard.

Shambling over to Compa, IF simply collapsed into her girlfriend's arms for the first time in 5 days. In spite of worry, Compa kind of enjoyed being able to hug her and stroke her hair again. IF raised a hand to Compa's back, grabbing hold of her sweater for dear life.

"Compa I... I'm worried that I'm not me any more. When I transform I feel... wrong. There are these voices yelling in my head to make me do awful things. I _have_ done awful things. Am I still IF?"

Compa ran a hand through IF's hand. "Yes you are, Iffy. You're still my Iffy. Always will be."

Her words were sweet and laced with affection, just as they always were. That was going to make this even harder.

IF pulled away from Compa, and took one of her soft hands in hers.

"Compa..." There was a long, uneasy pause. "I love you. I always have. I always will. But I'm a demon now. All those ridiculous villains and monsters we made up as kids? They... I'm one of them now. I can't come back from what I have done or will do. I love you, and that's why I have to leave you."

Time stood still. Compa's body ceased to function. No breath nor blink. The two stayed like this for minutes. Eventually, it hit her, and she collapsed against IF. 

"I'm so sorry, Compa." IF ran a hand through Compa's hair, and turned her back on her.

"IF, please don't leave me" was all Compa could muster before sobs overtook her.

As she emerged into the moonlight once more, IF muttered under her breath;

"Goodbye Compa... Goodbye IF."


	11. Part 3: Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Land of Black Regality faces its biggest threat yet. From inside AND outside.

**Lastation Capital, Eastern Border, 9:30pm**

It was a simple mission on paper; Suppress the troops assaulting the border. Uni was a goddess, so humans weren't an issue to her.

What she actually _got_ was far beyond human.

A blue wind, striking from all angles with magical attacks that would make Mina shudder. Uni barely had time to raise her rifle before she was thrown across the town like a doll. When she raised her head, she saw the eastern side of Lastation on flames. Bright blue flames, reaching high into the sky.

Footsteps came from behind, but Uni was far too weakened to turn her head and find the source.

A deep, evil voice spoke up. "Good job dear Blue Heart, this one will do nicely as a bargaining chip. Go stir up some more chaos, I have a message to send."

Sounds of an object speeding off at an unnatural pace followed, before Uni's consciousness was silenced by a boot to the head.

**Noire's office, 9:35pm**

After a week of trying, Kei finally succeeded in breaking down Noire's door. Noire had locked herself in her room ever since Vert had been killed, refusing to communicate with the world outside. Now, however, she had no choice. Blue Heart and Iris Heart were close to the capital, and if they won then this entire thing was **over**.

"Noire, I know you're incredibly broken over Vert's killing, but we **need** you to go and fight. Now."

Noire retorted with a weak, forced chuckle. "Nobody needs me Kei, nobody does."

Kei could only answer that with a sigh. She figured Noire would pull this. Time to get right to the nitty gritty then.

"Noire, the enemy forces have captured Uni. They're demanding that you fight them directly, otherwise they'll harm her. They can't kill her permanently, of course, but these are Ultradimension forces, and it's likely they might hide her in that dimension once they realize she can't be permanently killed. Also, we have direct confirmation that-"

"Fetch the Mnemosynes, and the sword" Noire interrupted with a cold, flat statement. The Mnemosyne project was started when the Ultradimension was first encountered, Noire wanted to reverse-engineer their CPU memories to REMOVE someone's CPU powers rather than grant them. It worked; the Ultradimension Neptune was stripped of her powers at her own request. However, one of of the rules dictated by the friendship treaty was that any war related projects were to be disbanded and dismantled. Noire complied with disbanding them, but several of the Mnemosyne crystals were kept in the vault. For Noire to call for their use was warrying, but war was war and victory was all that mattered.

"At once, Noire." Kei nodded and departed for the vault immediately.

There was a strange feeling rising in Noire. It felt like anger and... lust. A lust for violence and conquest. It was a minuscule feeling, but it was present in the back of Noire's mind and silencing it proved difficult. She didn't have time to pay attention to it, Uni required saving.

5 minutes passed, and Kei returned, with a pouch of the Mnemosynes and the sword case. She sat them on Noire's bed, and made for the door. Turning to Noire before she left, Kei had a worried look in her eye.

"I'll set up the Honor Guard for if anyone breaches the Basilicom. We'll be waiting for your return, goddess speed Noire." Kei turned and hurried off out of sight.

Noire pocketed the Mnemosynes and gazed at the sword. The aura of malice and hate it was emitting had intensified in the time between her last usage of it and it's appearance today. It was almost intoxicating, in an unnerving and somewhat uncomfortable manner. This sword caused all of these problems.

This sword would _**fix**_ them all too.

Noire lifted the sword from the case and admired the blade. As strange as it was, it had definitely been crafted with expertise. The design didn't match any known weapon in Gamindustri, although it's base form resembled a knockoff of one of the popular Beam Sabers used within Gamindustri. After taking two lives, however, the blade had grown in size, looking more like a greatsword than anything else.

Slinging the sword over her back, Noire held a fist to her head and transformed.

Black Heart was going to take her sister back.

**Lastation Capital, Eastern Border. 9:50pm**

Noire could survey the damage to Lastation as she flew to where Uni was held. Most of the outer towns within Lastation were covered in blue flames and smoke. Thousands of citizens were being evacuated through any safe channel that was available. The main military was trying to hold off the bulk of the invasion force, but stragglers often got inside. Once Uni was back in her care, Noire was going to track down Iris Heart and put an end to this invasion by any means necessary.

Speaking of the devil, upon landing Noire quickly discovered Iris Heart was the one holding Uni. Standing atop a pillar of rubble, holding Uni in one hand and a whip-blade in another, Iris Heart staring down icily at Noire.

"You're such an irresponsible big sister, letting your little sis out at night. Did nobody ever tell you bedtime stories when you were younger? There are scary monsters in the dark."

As she said that, a hundred red dots lit up around Noire in a circle formation, all of them originating from humanoid shadows.

Iris Heart beamed at the sight of their arrival. "I'm not dumb like Vert, dear-"

"Don't you _**dare**_ insult her" Noire spat, dripping with unhinged fury.

Iris Heart groaned out loud. "Fine fine, whatever. Regardless, I'm not dumb. I know you have a powerful army, and strong defences, so I... let's just say I conscripted another Goddess into the fray. Black Heart, meet Blue Heart."

As if waiting for a cue, Blue Heart appeared behind Iris Heart in a gust of blue wind. Iris Heart planted her whip-blade into the rubble, moving her now free hand to Blue Heart's face and patting it gently.  
"You're so adorable, my little CPU. Why don't you go say hello to Black Heart?" Iris Heart removed her hand from Blue Heart's face. The imposing blue CPU nodded, and disappeared.

Noire looked around frantically. Where did she go? She was nowhere to be- Wait, was that a gust of wi-THWACK.

A powerful force dislocated one of Noire's knees, forcing her to the ground and electing a loud yelp from the goddess. Turning onto her back, Noire finally had a look at the new CPU.

Long, flowing blue hair, crystalline lightning-bolt wings, and a blue cloak draping most of her torso. Standing at the same height as Green Heart, this CPU was a tall and imposing figure. Half of her face had been drastically scarred, and her right arm was mechanical in nature.

Blue Heart gazed into Noire's eyes, her stare cold and hypnotic in a sense. Blue Heart broke the stare and delivered a boot to Noire's stomach, causing her to cripple into a ball.

"You, Black Heart, are charged with the murder of Nepgear and Vert. How do you plead?" Extending a long blade from her right arm, Blue Heart's voice was low, but vehement.

"Not guilty. Nepgear was an accident, a mistake. Vert... Vert ASKED me to kill her." Noire's defiance was met with a backhanded punch from Blue Heart's organic arm.

"Lies. All total lies. Lastation is a nation founded on deceit, it's currency Lies, and it's people liars. Humanity lives under a regime of falsities and manipulation. We shall free them this mistreatment; either by the bonds of friendship, the chains of slavery, or the fires of war. This world shall know peace, one way or another. I am Blue Heart, leader of Those Who Hate The Sun, and we shall blanket this planet in the protective arms of darkness".

Noire opened her mouth to protest, but was hit once more and forced to her knees. From her position, she could barely see Iris Heart at the top of the pillar.

Looking down on her new captive, Iris Heart spoke only two words: "Punish Her."

Noire had a split second of solace before the beating came.

Thwack. Crack. Thrakk. Krakk. Thudd.

15 minutes. 15 minutes it went on for.

By the end of it, Noire was unrecognisable. She had forcibly de-transformed 10 minutes in, which only worsened the damage. Most of her face had burst open, and much of the skin around her limbs had peeled or even _burnt_ off. Strands of her hair littered the area around her, and blood leaked from her face all over her.

And through all of this, Uni was forced to watch. Every single impact, every strike, every kick, every punch. All of it. Of course, seeing most of it was difficult due to the floods of tears that had overwhelmed her eyes. Letting Uni go, Iris Heart let out a yawn.

"That's it? The mighty CPU Black Heart, of the Land of Black Regality, leader of Gamindustri's strongest military? Pathetic. Blue Heart, finish her off."

The blue CPU nodded, and immediately reached for the Gehaburn at Noire's side. Once more forcing Noire to her knees, Blue Heart readied the Gehaburn and held it up high.

"I, CPU Blue Heart of the people, sentence you, CPU Black Heart, to **death** "

Attempting to break free from Iris Heart's grip, Uni struggled, cursed and protested.

But it was far too late.

Blue Heart took position, readier her sword and brought it down on Noire's neck.

Only for it to harmlessly bounce off it, as if it were a bouncy ball colliding with a solid steel surface.

A low, steadily rising laugh began to force it's way out of Noire's lips. Both Iris and Blue Heart were stunned, both with shock and confusion. Neither of them noticed, that Uni had ducked under Iris Heart's arm and took to the skies.

"XMB: EMPRESS!"

The two enemy CPUs turned their eyes to the sky, only for it to be blotted out by a large pink plasma strike that obliterated the tower Iris Heart was on.

Blue Heart dodged in time, but the smoke and rubble that had been thrown up obscured her vision. Throwing up her hood, she scanned the immediate area for Noire.

Nothing. The Gehaburn had vanished too.

Blue Heart made the fatal mistake of turning her back to Noire's last known location.

A sudden impact tossed Blue Heart into the air, causing her to collide with the remnants of the border wall. When she re-orientated herself, before her stood the re-transformed Black Heart.

"You know, I'm not quite sure what happened, but surely even a new Goddess would be smart enough not to turn another Goddess' weapon on her. Now that we're on even footing, let's fight evenly, shall we?" Noire raised her blade at Blue Heart, who only responded with a smile and a nod towards the skies.

"It seems your little sister picked a fight too." 

Noire looked up into the skies, and caught a glimpse of Uni and Iris Heart locked in combat. For a moment, anyway.

Blue Heart took the opportunity to launch Noire into the skies. Following behind her, Blue Heart launched a swarm of azure crystals in Noire's direction.

The first one almost made contact, spawning a large and boiling blue explosion. With great effort and agility, Noire deflected and blocked many of them. In that time, Blue Heart had reached the same altitude as Noire.

"I'm impressed. Not many people would get up from a beating like that."

"Not many people are like me. Tell me, Blue Heart, what's your human name?"

Blue Heart responded to her question with a heavily sarcastic laugh. "Oh please, monsters like us have no need of human names. Isn't that right, Black Heart? Or should I call you _Noire_?" Her pronunciation of Noire's name was laced with disgust, leaking with Blue Heart's obvious loathing of her.

Before Noire had an opportunity to respond, Blue Heart started up again. "You knew me once, but no longer. I am Blue Heart, reborn anew. I shall bring Justice to Gamindustri and lead Those Who Hate The Sun to glory."

**Blue** Heart. Justice. Protecting humans.

Oh Goddess.

This was **Nisa**.

"Nisa?! How did **you** meet Iris Heart?"

Her question was met once more by laughter.

"Black Heart, you are ridiculous."

Blue Heart's amused expression snapped back to a serious one, and she lunged towards Noire. Blades clashing in the sky, the heat radiating from the crossed swords would have boiled a mortal alive. Noire pulled away to reposition, but Blue Heart wasted no time in pressuring her. A flurry of quick strikes and jabs followed, putting serious strain on Noire's defensive abilities.

"Enough of this, Blue Heart. LACE RIBBONS!"

Blue Heart smirked at her attempt. "BLACK FLAME FLURRY!"

Noire zoned in on Blue Heart to attack, but the minute she approached, Blue Heart had shifted behind her, assaulting her with a furious dance of fiery daggers. The final hit launched Noire some distance away. Fast and strong, Blue Heart was quickly becoming an equal to Noire, it seemed.

Uni wasn't faring much better versus Iris Heart. Though her speed and rifle kept out of harm's way, every attack of Iris Heart's that connected was agonising, and her movements were quickly becoming misguided and sluggish.

It seemed the black sisters finally found an equal match.

**Compa's clinic, 11:20pm**

Compa's self-preservation had shut off entirely since IF left her. Eating and drinking only the bare minimum, Compa was quickly becoming a shell of her former self. Living within the clinic, Compa had planned to put up the Closed sign forever.

**Had.**

As she prepared to doze off for the 12th time today, the door to the clinic clicked open and before Compa stood... Cave? What was she doi-

"Compa, I know it's been three years, but I require your assistance immediately. I will carry you if need be."

Compa nodded hesitantly., and Cave in turn picked up the tiny nurse and placed her on her back.

"It's the new CPU that's attacking Lastation. We-I mean I need you to snap her out of it. Compa, it's IF."

Compa whispered a weak acknowledgement into Cave's back, which went completely unheard by the tall bodyguard. As she picked up pace, Cave eventually left the ground and took to the skies.

**Lastation Capital, outskirts**

The battle between the two duelling pairs of CPUs had stretched outside of the border. Though she resisted well, Noire was nothing in the face of the combination of sword skills and arcane knowledge that Blue Heart held. Having lost a wing and some armour already, Blue Heart's attacks were slowly beginning to leave their mark on the retainer.

Uni's battle was going far, far worse. Taking several hits from Iris Heart, she was bleeding in 4 different places, and her vision had become blurry.

Which proved to be her undoing. Completely miscalculating a shot, Iris Heart was able get up close and grab Uni's head like it was another doll. She took a moment to look into Black Sister's eyes, before tossing her to the ground like dead weight.

Crashing to the ground, the heat of the impact fried both of Uni's wings off, completely disabling her flight. Noire attempted to rush to her aid, but Blue Heart took the opportunity to disarm her and pin her to the ground.

Iris Heart landed a short distance from Uni, as if to savour the approach on land.

"My oh my, dearest little Black Sister. If I was in the mood for fun, you definitely would've satisfied. But unfortunately for you, nothing but victory matters now." Iris Heart drew closer and closer with each word, until her shadow was covering the entirety of Uni.

Iris Heart clicked her fingers. "Blue Heart, my dear? Make Black Heart watch." Blue Heart complied, grabbing Noire's head and forcing her gaze towards her sister and Iris Heart. 

With a sick, almost satisfied smile, Iris Heart lifted Uni from the ground by her head with one hand, and with the other delivered a gentle caress to her face.

Then it came.

Pushing a thumb into Uni's eye and the rest of her fingers into the side of her face, Iris Heart scalded the left side of her face with electricity. Her screams were long, drawn out and agonised, stopping only when the electricity did.

With each shock, Noire's rage boiled and festered. With each shock, Noire changed. With each shock, the Gehaburn called to her.

With the third shock, all hell broke loose.

Reaching for the Gehaburn, Noire vacated Blue Heart's grip by slicing across her chest., and immediately ignored the blue CPU to charge towards Iris Heart. Not even bothering to aim, the moment she was in reach, Noire brought the sword down **hard** on Iris Heart, completely dismembering her left arm at the elbow. Iris Heart hastily attempted to defend herself with a burst of lightning, but it did little to slow the enraged CPU. Ignoring the sword, Noire instead used the momentum of her flight to deliver a brutal punch to Iris Heart's shocked face.

The damage it did to her deeply, INCREDIBLY satisfying to Noire. Iris Heart was launched across the field, much like Noire and Uni had been doing since this fight began.

Wishing to finish Iris Heart off, Noire was instead interrupted by a powerful blast of gravity magic, strong enough to immobilise her for a minute. Running to Iris Heart's side, Blue Heart's attempts to support her were mostly ignored.

"Blue Heart, remember; You'd do _anything_ for me". She was, of course, referring to the True Black Flame. Essentially, a powerful suicide attack that would ignite the oxygen of this nation and fry everyone inside it. Blue Heart solemnly nodded, and flew towards the city, carving through buildings to reach a center.

Recovering from Blue Heart's attack, Noire slowly stood up and recovered feelings in her limbs. As she turned towards the still crippled Iris Heart, who had now bled out enough to turn into Plutia, she spied Cave landing nearby, with a familiar face on her back; Compa.

The two wasted no time in sprinting towards Noire. Compa had barely stopped moving when she spoke.

"Miss Noire, CPU Blue Heart is IF! Please don't kill her!" she pleaded, with Cave similarly following suite.  
"Indeed, if you preserve her we can likely gain more insight on how to stop this happening again. However, if she has to die, please try to preserve her human form at least." Cave was unusually cold and analytical, almost like Kei, in a way.

Their pleas would have been heard, were it not for the fact that a mass of blue gas was accelerating towards Blue Heart's current location at a worrying speed.  
"She's charging up the flame, hrm." Cave muttered under her breath, just quiet enough so that neither of the two present would hear it.

A weak voice spoke up from behind them.

"Do it, Noire. Take... take this." It was Uni, barely clinging to life, holding up her rifle to Noire.  
Noire took a long sigh, and grabbed the rifle from Uni's hands.

Holding another Goddess' weapon always felt unnatural, but this had to be done.   
Compa, however, was having none of it.

"Miss Noire? Please, please don't kill my Iffy. She didn't want this, she didn't choose this. Please, please don't kill my Iffy. Please."

Her protests sadly fell on deaf ears. As she continued protesting, Noire continued charging up the shot.

Ding.

The shot was ready.

With Blue Heart in her sights, Compa's protests in her ears, and doubt in her heart, Noire pulled the trigger.

The shot connected with Blue Heart's leg, rending it clean off. 

It wasn't enough. It was too late to stop the true flame fully.

The flame burst outwards in a conal shape. Noire dived to cover Uni, and Cave shielded Compa with her body.

For 5 minutes, all they saw and felt was fire. 

Eventually, it faded. 

The entire Eastern district had been wiped out, but the rest of Lastation had not taken any damage from it. Sorrow filled Noire's heart as she surveyed the damage. This was her Lastation, ruined by Iris Heart's machinations.

Compa immediately ran towards the center of the blast, with Cave in tow. Noire slung Uni over her shoulder and followed suite. There was nothing between them and Compa's destination; everything had been flattened.

What the trio found would haunt them until the end.

Blue Heart was still alive. In some sense of the word. Both of her legs were rended off, and her arm was still missing. Burns and cuts coated her body, with only her face left mostly untouched. To everyone's added horror, Blue Heart could still speak.

"Mom? Compa? Where are you? I'm scared. I don't wanna die. Please don't let me die. I don't want to die." She was talking to nobody in particular; the mad movements of her eyes implied she was blind.

Compa fell down beside her, holding her hand and gently reassuring what was left of her girlfriend. As Noire looked on, and idea struck her.

De-transforming, Noire felt her pockets. They were still there; the Mnemosynes!  
Slowly setting Uni down and double-checking to ensure she was still breathing, Noire hovered over to IF side and held her upright.

"I... I will allow you to die as IF." Forcing IF's mouth open, Noire inserted a Mnemosyne into her mouth. With another blue flame covering her, Blue Heart's form shifted. IF was back, for the moment, her vision restored.  
Looking to her lover, IF let out a pained smile. In spite of great pain, IF leaned up to her face and kissed Compa with burnt lips.

Their moment was interrupted by Noire drawing the Gehaburn.

"Forgive me Compa, but her death must not be in vain." Before Compa could even process her words, Noire thrust the sword into IF's midsection, putting the half-dead woman out of her misery.

Compa collapsed over her girlfriend's body, cradling it into her chest. "I'm so sorry IF, I let you take that memory, I let you die. I'm so sorry." Amidst sobs, the rest of her words came out of naught but gargles and noises.

Noire had already vacated the scene, there was one thread left to cut loose; Plutia.

Huddled against a tree, the once intimidating CPU was almost laughable now. With one arm left, and tears coating her face, one could be forgiven for forgetting that this was the most powerful person in the Ultradimension.

"Noire? You're such a meanie. Everyone here hates you. I hate you. I hope something bad comes for you soon, cause nobody deserves it more than you." Plutia's words were bitter and her phrases were uncharacteristic for the usually dopey CPU.

Noire raised her sword to strike and take Plutia's life, but another idea entered her head. Noire brought the sword down on Plutia's thigh, electing a cry and a scream from her.

"I'm not going to kill you. As much as I want to, you deserve worse than that. I want you to go back to the Ultradimension with your armies. I want you to live through the humiliation of defeat. I want your legacy to be CPU Iris Heart, the failure." Noire holstered the sword, and mockingly offered a hand to Plutia.

Her left one.

Plutia could only laugh at the gesture.


	12. Part 3.2: Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world pieces itself back together.

**Compa's clinic, 11am**

IF's funeral was a sad, sad affair. Buried just behind Compa's clinic, near a river, the funeral was attended by Compa and Compa alone. Black Heart was very lenient, and let Compa take IF's body home, earning the ire of Kei and Cave in the process. Laying her body to rest in the soil, Compa marked IF's final rest with a picture she drew of them when they were children. With a ridiculous out of shape sun and two chibi children holding hands, this would serve as a reminder to Compa that she was never Blue Heart, only IF.

Compa sat by IF's grave by hours, talking to the makeshift grave about the time they spent together. Their birth, childhood, all of their time spent together. She was startled from her monologue by a sudden hand on her shoulder.

Neptune's hand.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyy Compa, it's been a long time." Sitting down beside Compa and wrapping an arm around the nurse's waist, Neptune's tone was sympathetic and warm. "I... I heard about Iffy. I'm so sorry it came down to that."

Compa, still in no state to speak, only responded by resting her head on Neptune's shoulder. Wrapping her arm tighter around Compa, Neptune used her free hand to stroke her hair gently.

How did it come to this? Not long ago, she was relaxing with these two on a beach. Now one had been converted to a CPU and then killed by Noire. _Noire_

Poor Noire... Neptune knew the sword was making her insane, it was such an obvious trope that she was surprised that nobody else caught on. Everyone thought Noire was legitimately losing it, not a soul listened when Neptune cried "but the sword!"

All she could do now was pray that Noire would accept her invitation. Maybe, just _maybe_ they could figure this all out.

Gently nudging Compa to her feet, Neptune held her close as she walked with the lonely nurse.  
"Listen, Compa, I know it might sound silly and overprotective of me, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." Neptune trailed off, like she was carefully rearranging her words mid-sentence. "...uuuuuuuuut I wanna look after you, so does Histy. So we're gonna take you to the Basilicom, okay? You need to rest my lovely little Compa."

Squeezing Neptune's hand, Compa gave an accepting nod and a weak, almost pathetic smile.

**Lastation Basilicom, Uni's room, 9:30am**

Looking in the mirror, Uni could feel little else but disgust at her mangled form. Much of the damage on the left side of her face was healed, but four large scars remained, and Uni's eye wasn't coming back for years. In it's place was an eye patch, beneath that lay nothing but a gaping hole.

The rest of her body wasn't doing much better. Covered in various bruises, burns and scars from Iris Heart's assault, Uni looked less like a smooth skinned CPU Candidate and more like an aged, damage veteran CPU. _At least nobody will question my experience from looks alone_.

What remained of her right leg drew a small, bitter smile from Uni. From the hip downwards, there were various robotics attached to help Uni actually **use** what remained of the leg. _Nepgear would love this, she'd spend ages looking at it's internals_.

Though she kept it to herself and never outright hinted at it, it was pretty clear to those who knew Uni that part of her died when Nepgear did. Her enthusiasm had been corrupted and torn apart, mutating into distaste for everything. Refusing to communicate with almost everyone, the Basilicom staff spread rumours that Uni had been replaced by an evil CPU.

There was some truth to those rumours. In meetings, Uni suddenly began to advocate the most efficient solution, regardless of any impact it might have. At times, even Kei was shocked, but two efficient CPUs instead of one meant more progress for Lastation, so she couldn't quite protest.

For the moment.

**Plutia's Basilicom, 4:50pm**

Plutia was expecting the war criminal treatment from Lastation; Ridiculed, mocked, held in prison for eternity or executed for her crimes.

Instead, she was held in a cell for 2 hours while the portal was established, and then escorted to it by an armed escort. Her forces had already been sent back. The living were sent through immediately, the dead were sent afterwards in black and gold coffins.

Closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and stepping into the portal, Plutia was expecting the mocking to come from the other side instead.

To her surprise and relief, instead she got tackled by a flying yellow cannonball by the name of Peashy, who was screaming "MAMA!" at the top of her lungs as she knocked the mighty Iris Heart to the floor.

Snuggling Peashy into her chest with her remaining arm, Plutia took a moment to appreciate the quiet, closing her eyes and savouring the feeling of air not polluted by war. Upon opening her eyes, the other CPUs came into view.

"It looks like you have quite a few stories to tell" said Vert in a joking yet motherly tone. Her, Blanc and especially Noire were wearing looks of concern on their face.  
Helping Plutia to her feet, Blanc took her hand and walked the wounded CPU to the table, which had been lovingly laid out in preparation for her return, with a little "Welcome back :)" banner on it.

The hours went by slowly as Plutia recalled what she did. After recalling any event, she paused in preparation for her fellow CPUS to insult her, but it never came. As she recalled the events of the final battle, tears slowly leaked from her eyes and she was immediately coddled into Vert's bosom. 

Upon finishing her story, Noire was the first to chime in.  
"I'm just glad you're okay, Plutia" Her voice was warm and gentle, like a happy sister. Running a hand through her hair, Noire wasn't even attempting her usual tsundere routine. Blanc rose from her seat, embracing what she could of Plutia in a hug. Noire followed suit. The CPUs were engaged in one big group snuggle.

For a moment, Plutia had completely forgotten about everything. Happy to be in the company of her loving friends, her mind was already suppressing the awful events that had transpired. None of these CPUs cared much about the other world. While this Vert was saddened at Nepgear's passing, Peashy and Compa had already filled the hole left in her heart, so she was quickly forgotten. All they cared about was **their** friend from **_this_** dimension.

That moment was completely shattered when Plutia, trying to return some affection, reached out to pat Noire's head. In place of her expected feeling; A hand running through Noire's long pigtails, was the feeling of a flat stump awkwardly rubbing against strands of hair.

As if karma was catching up to her, two familiar voices struck from the hallway. "MAMA, WE MISSED YOU!"

It was Peashy's 6 year old best friends; Compa and... IF. 

IF.

Plutia stared at the child blankly for a good few minutes, puzzling both IF and Plutia's friends.  
Rising from her seat, Plutie shambled over to IF and fell to her knees beside the child. Holding her with her remaining arm, she could only repeat the same words over and over again;

"I'm sorry."

Eventually, she calmed down. Though her friends were confused, most of them chalked it up to intense stress and recommended she rest. None of them were willing to let her be alone, so Plutia was joined in her rest by Noire, Vert, Compa, IF, Blanc, and her dear daughter Peashy.

In her mind, all Plutia could think of was the look on IF's face as she died.


	13. Part 3.4: Ambition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new force appears.

"Neptune... My freakin' replacement's called _Neptune?_ " The words came from the shadowed figure sitting atop the stone throne. Unmoving, yet clearly alive, its unholy presence froze the air around it.

"Yeah. Neptune, Purple Heart of Planeptune." Those words triggered a spasm of anger in the seated figure. Minor enough to be unnoticeable, but strong enough to shock the world around it into submission.

Croire wasn't even sure this was worth it. Hunting down an old CPU just to stir up trouble? Pfft. The last time she did that, in some other barely notable dimension, it was a boring affair that was quickly shut down through the power of friendship.

But this world was different. Friendship was rare here, and tension was brewing. What better, then, than to give this world a push? A very angry, ancient, vengeful push.

The figure was unmoving. Silent. Yet still intimidating. The air was still, the tomb was quiet, and the only source of light being a tiny flame in the center of the room.

Thump.

Croire looked around for the source of the noise, yet there was nothing to see. Was someone else here with her?

Thump. Another one, this time shaking the foundation of the tomb.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Increasing in frequency and intensity, Croire had to cling to her book to stay upright.

The tiny flame sparked once, sending a rising aura of flame throughout the room. It was a dark flame, a red flame. Pulsating and sparking with rage, the flames were alive with anger.

Reaching out to the figure, and enveloping her like a gentle mother, the figure slowly came into view.

Long red pigtails, tied in knots. Fingerless gloves over black sleeves. A white shirt unbuttoned except for the top, hiding beneath an orange tie with a familiar symbol. Green shorts held up by suspenders. Black boots with orange socks.

The figure almost looked to be asleep, for a moment Croire had assumed they'd died in the 10 minute wait. 

As if sensing her doubt, the figure's eyes opened in an instant.

Deep red eyes, bearing the weight of centuries of fury.

Rising from the throne, the CPU gazed around the now lit tomb. Adorned with murals and tapestries, this tomb was a monument to her sins and to her victories. None of them mattered now, though. Forcing her glance back to Croire, the CPU spoke the words that would signal the reckoning of Planeptune:

"I am Uzume Tennouboshi, Orange Heart of Planeptune. I'm gonna beat the CRAP out of my replace, and I will bring about-"

Uzume's dramatic speech was interrupted by the sound of laughing and clapping. Croire was, somehow, having the time of her life.

"Oh man, you ancient CPUs are so dramatic, I swear you probably would've went off for an hour if I let you. But whatever, I came here for fun, not speeches, and I got a present for ya."

Extending her hand, Croire summoned forth a large, powerful looking blade from nowhere.

"I swiped this from some dimension that was going kablam. Some whiny little kid had it, killed all her friends. It was hilarious, you should've been there." Croire let out an oddly satisfied laugh upon recalling that sight.  
"I think it's called the Valhaburn or something, I don't care." 

Croire held the sword in front of her, offering it up to the newly returned Uzume.

Grabbing hold of the hilt, Uzume could _feel_ the power within it. The power that felt eerily similar to many CPUs congregated in the one source. As soon as it met her hand, power flowed into her body, almost completely restoring her to her former state.

Once it had taken hold, a satisfied grin took over Uzume's face. Making for the door, she paid little attention to the oracle behind her that was desperately attempting to keep up.

"Alright Oracle, think it's about time I get my nation back!"

Uzume struck a dramatic pose, drawing an irritated sigh from Croire.

"You're ridiculous" she said, irritation obvious in her tone.

"I'm still cool, right?" Uzume said, like a hopeful child.

"Nope."

"Oh." Uzume visibly deflated. "Well whatever, let's get out of here already!"


	14. Part 3.6: Advisor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noire has an audience with Cave and Rei Ryghts.

Noire was strong, that much was obvious, but she needed far more than raw strength to rebuild Lastation. While she did ensure the nation's survival, the damage done by Iris Heart was unparalleled. There was a silver lining, however. The opportunity to rebuild also brought with it the opportunity to reform. To make Lastation better, stronger. It was possible, but Noire needed more than just strength for reformation. 

She needed insight. Multiple viewpoints to discuss and debate with. Noire needed a council, and as luck would have it, one was about to enter her grasp very shortly.

Rei Ryghts was the name of the woman who drove Tari into the abyss, and it was also the name one of the women that wished to meet with Noire. Was it actually her? It should be impossible, as the very few sources that exist from that time period stated that Cyan Heart died with her nation.  
But this was a week of impossibilities, and one more wouldn't be surprising. 

The other woman requestion Noire's attention, and also accompanying Rei Ryghts, was named Cave. She had shown herself during the battle of Lastation and had aided in recovery efforts, but her motives were unknown. She was once a security specialist in Leanbox, but completely vanished from the world around three years ago. No sources were able to trace her, illegal or otherwise, yet here she was requesting an audience alongside someone who may be a long lost CPU.

Noire gestured to Kei to let them in. Sitting at the head of the meeting table, Noire's presence dominated almost every prior meeting held in the room.

The woman in front was a relatively unassuming figure. With long cyan hair and a simple suit jacket that ended in a skirt, a nondescript pair of leggings covered by white knee-high boots, and a pair of fingerless fabric gloves, she didn't really look like a CPU. In fairness, neither did Neptune or Blanc.

The woman behind her, somewhat towering over her companion, was far more extravagant. A white undershirt and black corset, covered by a short sleeveless black overcoat with gold embroidery that only reached just slightly below her best. A long flowing black skirt with red and gold patterns on it, covering a set of knee high leather boots that made very audible clacks on the marble flooirng. Fine black gloves that ended at her elbows, and a little ribbon wrapped around her neck, almost as if she were a present waiting to be unwrapped.

The smaller girl approached Noire with a hint of confidence, bowing before her at the end of her walk.

"I am Rei Ryghts, it's an honour to meet you, CPU Black Heart." She turned her head to her companion. "This is my advisor, the beautiful Cave."

Cave curtsied to Noire, remaining silent.

Noire waved the two to their seats, with Ryghts being positioned just in front of Noire, and Cave being positioned opposite Kei.

Noire clasped her hands together.

"So, why is it you wanted an audience with me, Ms Ryghts? You share the same title as the CPU of Tari, or rather the former CPU of the former nation of Tari."

A small smile former of Ryghts' lips. She leaned back in her chair.

"I am indeed the former CPU of Tari. My mistakes brought suffering to this world, much like the actions of all CPUs. I hear that you wanted peace for this world, so I resurfaced." Ryghts leaned forward in her chair, resting her arms on the desk.

"I know you can kill CPUs with the sword. The period of time between Tari's fall and Lowee's rise was the most peaceful in Gamindustri history. Isn't that proof enough of the fact that CPUs aren't needed? I understand you may have some issues about killing your fellow CPUs, but I'm willing to provide what little remains of Tari's tech to aid you in your goal. Maybe even non-lethally. All I request is that you take me and my advisor Cave onboard as advisors to you. That is all."

This was a predicament. Ryghts did have a point; the records of conflict in Gamindustri's history mostly start around the era Lowee was formed, before that there's nothing. It could be coincidence, as no official scholars were around until Lowee was, but it's still something. Noire deep down didn't want to kill anyone either, so the idea of being able to depower them to achieve peace was also appealing. Asides, Noire had often considered embracing the frail limbs of mortality somehow.

But she was far too important to do that. Not right now, anyway. Until Gamindustri was at peace, Noire had to remain immortal. 

"Alright, Ryghts, I'll accept your offer. I'll have some assistants set up a room for you and Cave. We can discuss things in more detail tomorrow. However, nothing is solidified until you actually get that Tari technology to our doorstep, understand?"

Rei nodded.

"Good. Cave, Kei? You two are dismissed. I want to talk to Ms. Ryghts first."

Cave and Kei excused themselves, leaving the room.

Noire rose from her seat, and approached the window. Folding her hands behind her back and trying her best to seem serious, Noire was suddenly much more intimidating.

"I want you to tell me about the fall of Tari. Spare no detail, no matter how gruesome."

Noire turned to face Rei, who had suddenly turned pale.

Rising from her chair, Rei began pacing back and forth throughout the room anxiously.

"I was born into this world and the voices said "Build us a nation! Bring us prosperity! Bring us peace!" So I built them a nation, I brought them prosperity, and I brought them peace. All was well. But then a rodent appeared, calling herself an oracle. I followed her words, her requests, her suggestions, her orders. We lost peace, war broke out. We lost prosperity, poverty infected the nation. The nation, and I, fell. Blinded by the influence of the oracle, I fell from grace and landed in the abyss of the ocean for many years. Tari fell, becoming a myth and a warning. I failed as a CPU, and I-"

"So you failed as a CPU..." Noire interjected "and blame it on everyone else? Seems a little immature."

Rei let out a defeated sigh. "I thought that at first. For the first few hundred years after my watery exile, I questioned whether my hatred of CPUs was worth it. But then the other nations rose. Lowee, Planeptune, Lastation and Lowee. We might bring peace, but the threat of war is eternal. Humans are weak, yes, but there were far less wars when they were left alone than was the case when we ruled."

Noire considered Rei's words. As she thought earlier, it WAS true that the gap between Tari and Lowee was incredibly peaceful. Before she could proceed however, Rei dropped another bombshell.

"One other thing, and I think you might consider this one important" Rei straightened herself and cleared her throat.

"Purple Heart was not the original CPU of Planeptune. It was a woman named Uranus Uzume, also known as CPU Orange Heart. Her citizens loved their nation, but not her rule. She was, in a sense, retconned by the world and replaced with Neptune."

Neptune... was a replacement? Noire had to talk to her about this.

"I see... I have one final question though. I want you to transform, even for five seconds." There was uncertainty in Noire's voice. If the difference between her forms was as great as Plutia, telling her to transform may have been a mistake.

Rei stared at the ground for a few minutes in silence. This would be the first time she transformed for many many millennia.

"Activate: CPU Cyan Heart."

With a ray of dark energy and a flash, Rei Ryghts was gone and in her place stood a tall CPU who emanated hate. 

Without moving her gaze from the ground, Cyan Heart rambled towards Noire slowly.

Meeting her gaze, Cyan Heart saw straight into Noire's very essence.

"Now... why should I follow /you/, Black Heart?" Her eyes were waiting for a slipup. A flaw. A mistake. Anything she could capitalize on to have an excuse to tear Black Heart apart.

To her surprise, Noire responded by transforming and uttering three simple words.

"Because I've succeeded."

Cyan Heart paused for a moment, nodded, and reverted form. Leaving the room in silence, Noire was left to ponder what she said.

Had she really succeeded?


	15. Part 3.8: Aberrant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uzume begins the takeover of Planeptune.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm completely aware the two are partially out of character, blame VII not being out in the West for that.

"Hey everyone! It's your true Goddess of Planeptune, Orange Heart! Big ol' Purple Heart in her fancy Basilicom is just a fake, so you should follow me and get her out!"

At the start of her crusade, Uzume's speeches were long and impassioned. As time went on, however, she simply became _bored_ with it, and resorted to shorter speeches. They still had the same effect, though. Word of her identity had spread like wildfire, and Uzume had already amassed followers on the outer districts of Planeptune. The inner districts of Planeptune were much harder to break, as they'd seen their Goddess in person so many times that they were practically enthralled. It was Uzume's duty to break that trance.

"So, ya having fun yet?" Croire sure wasn't. Watching a Goddess topple a nation would be entertaining if it involved fire and explosions, not speeches and passion.

"Quit whining Croire, I'm doing what I have to." Uzume's patience was slowly burning up. Between the effort required to persuade citizens to follow her, and the effort required to do speeches whilst in Goddess form, Uzume was very close to snapping.

Using CPU form was tiring, as was living with that incredibly bubbly personality her Orange Heart persona had. Though she had technically slept for thousands of years, Uzume was still exhausted from all the walking and rebellious speeching she'd partaken in today. Maybe she could take a nap? Nah, napping on a rooftop wouldn't exactly be fun nor comfortable, though it may be marginally better than a stone throne for several years.

The view of Planeptune from this perch troubled Uzume. It didn't look anything like _her_ Planeptune. Dense streets with only a few wide open spaces, very little plant life, almost no trees. It was almost insulting to look at. A once proud, beautiful nation reduced to industrial consumerism and "practical" designs. When she was back in power, this place would look like the great nation it once was.

"Are you gonna do anything cool yet?!" Croire was basically begging at this point, boredom was eating her alive.

"Soon, damn it, soon!" With that, another thread of Uzume's patience withered away.

Rising to her feet, Uzume took a deep breath and nonchalantly leaped from the building she was on. The wind battering her body sparked a renewed vigor in Uzume. Landing with a thunk, Uzume quickly dusted herself off and proceeded on her merry way. Uzume had a contact to go visit. Within hours of her resurrection last week, an extradimensional traveller sent her a message, asked to come talk face to face. Never revealed her face, only her name.

Kurome Ankokuboshi.

Something about that name sparked Uzume's curiosity, so she set off for the meeting point immediately. It was within Planeptune's border, quite deep in the city centre. 

Nobody had seen Uzume's human form yet, allowing her to pass through the streets undetected. The Planeptune Peace Corps had been deployed, lead by a woman named Nisa. Their orders were to apprehend Orange Heart and question her. Uzume had no idea who was giving the orders, as word had spread in darker circles that Neptune had practically retired due to grief and that Histoire had done much the same, so who was ordering them?

The streets of Planeptune centre were mostly quiet. Soldiers wondered here and there, as did children playing in the streets alongside their parents, but other than that it was mostly silent. Up ahead, blocking the bridge to Uzume's destination, was a small squad of soldiers. 5, led by a blue haired woman in a ridiculous bodysuit and scarf.

Uzume sighed. She prayed that she WOULDN'T encounter anyone else today, but she had no choice this time. Uzume cleared her throat and hoped that the woman before her would be fairly intelligent and not dense.

The woman, her eyes previously focused on a small tablet, turned to face Uzume. A look of confusion crawled over her face. Turning to face the bridge, then Uzume, then the bridge again at a rapidly increasing pace, the woman was only a few head turns away from breaking the sound barrier. After what felt like an eternity, the woman finally stopped defying the laws of physics and returned her gaze to Uzume and solely Uzume.

"You uh... didn't you just come through here two hours ago? There's only one way in and out." There was uncertainty in her voice, and from the sounds of it, it was if she was talking to a ghost.

Once more, Uzume let out a heavy sigh. Of course, she gets the incompetent guard.

"No, this is my first time visiting, I've never been here before." Uzume was curt and to the point. "Can I go through now?"

The woman stared blankly at Uzume. "Uh... no you came here before, right? You were all like "My name is Kurome, and this is my home." all cold like, and just waltzed on past"

...Kurome? Oh brother.

"Look, my name's Uzume, and I really need to get by. Can you let me go through?" Another idiot, another thread.

The woman let out a gentle sigh. "Sorry, I guess I got mixed up, you looked like some gal that came by earlier. My name's Nisa, pleased to meet you Uzume!." Nisa extended her free hand towards Uzume, who begrudgingly shook it. "Heeeeey you're much friendlier than that other woman. Go on through, hopefully I'll see you later." Nisa winked at "Uzume" and stood to the side.

 _Did she just wink at me?_ Uzume thought to herself _I mean she's cute, but she's definitely too dense for me... oh my goddess someone cute winked at me. Oh goddess, calm down Uzume._

Uzume waited for her beating heart to still, and then crossed the bridge. "The classic district" was this district's name. It shared the same motif as Uzume's Planeptune; wide open spaces, trees, lots of plants and flowers, even had some of Uzume's white and red colour motif here and there. It was like a very bitter yet pleasing trip down memory lane.

Who was this Kurome girl, and why did Nisa mistake her- Wait, Nisa. Nisa. **Nisa.** The girl was in charge of the PPC, and Uzume didn't even catch on? At this rate, she would never conquer Planeptune.

47 Periscope Lane. This was the place Kurome asked to meet. It was an old house, with some attempt at renovation having been attempted (and abandoned) on the left side of the house. Did anyone even live here? It looked dead inside. Approaching the door, Uzume gave three knocks. The door was rickety and poorly maintained, as each knock felt like it was close to destroying the door entirely.

Nothing, not even a stir within the house.

Uzume's patience was at it's limits, so she simply opened the door and entered.

This house was definitely abandoned. Cobwebs, creaky flooring, the sound of water dripping. Definitely fitting every horror stereotype in the book here.

Uzume held out her hand and shut her eyes. Upon reopening, the Valhaburn and it's holy light were in her hands. With caution in every step, Uzume slowly looked around the abandoned house. The furniture had mostly decayed, and it was clear people had tried to live here, as there was other furniture that hadn't decayed as much, along with empty bags and a sleeping bag. In the living ro-

Phwoosh.

Movement. Uzume readied the sword and turned around. 

Nothing.

Phwoosh. 

Again, nothing.

Phwoosh, Uzume turned around and came face to face with... herself? In shock, she dropped the sword, which collapsed to its holstered form upon contact with the ground.

There, before Uzume was... herself? Where there was white on Uzume, there was black on this girl. Where there was red, there was purple. This girl was wearing an undershirt too, but aside from that she was unmistakably Uzume. Unable to respond, Uzume simply fell backwards on the floor, eyes still locked with other Uzume.

The other Uzume smiled, and strolled over to the fallen Uzume. Sitting down behind her, the other Uzume pulled her onto her lap and held her around the waist in an embrace. 

"My name is Kurome Ankokuboshi. In another dimension, a group of CPUs thought they destroyed me. Instead, I came here. I had long given up on my goals... however," Kurome raised a hand to Uzume's face, and rubbed another gently over her stomach. "seeing you on TV, giving your motivational speeches, it kind of reignited a spark in me." Kurome placed a kiss on Uzume's face, and began gently massaging both her face and her stomach.  
"I want Gamindustri, you want Planeptune. I think we can help one another out in the long term." Kurome's tone was gentle and smooth, yet there was an ulterior motive hidden behind her words, which would reveal itself very soon.

Kurome removed Uzume from her lap, and lay her down on the floor. Before Uzume could respond, Kurome planted a kiss on her lips and straddled the former CPU of Planeptune.

"First, I think we need to help one another in the short term."


	16. Part 4.0: Abdication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twin Orange Hearts begin their conquest of Planeptune, and Noire tries to intervene.

**Planeptune central main bridge, 10am**

Faith is like a virus. It infiltrates, adapts, takes control, and much like a virus, faith can mutate.

In Planeptune, there was a grave mutation going on.

One CPU was enough to stir the nation, but two was enough to shake it. Able to cover more ground and inspire more people, the duo of Uzume and Kurome was taking Planeptune by storm. After a long, arduous fortnight of stirring up chaos and shifting the faith of the people, it was time to strike. To take control, no, take **back** the nation. The twin CPUs shared many things; a former nation, an appearance, a weapon, and a great love for the other.

There was another, more sinister force behind the sudden popularity of the twin CPUs. The sword Uzume had been gifted with, the Valhaburn, shared many of the properties of Noire's sword, the Gehaburn. Including the corrupting effect it had on those around it. Though it was a different kind of corruption, corruption is corruption nonetheless. The citizens of Planeptune prayed to their CPU en masse, yet she stayed silent, unmoving. The perfect opportunity for the two Orange Hearts to appear and soak up their faith instead. The effect was noticeable from the start. The two felt fresher, more alive, invigorated. This growing passion only steeled their resolve.

And by the True Goddess, they would need it.

"FAKE CPU OF PLANEPTUNE, LISTEN TO ME!" Kurome bellowed, clearly putting her all into sound cool "WE, THE ORANGE HEARTS, OWN THIS NATION. IT'S OURS, AND WE'RE GONNA TAKE IT BACK. WE'RE NOT EVIL, HOWEVER, AND WE WILL GIVE YOU EXACTLY **TWO** HOURS TO SURRENDER." Stepping down from the podium, Kurome had a VERY self-satisifed smirk on her face, a smirk that only furthered Uzume's adoration of her.

**Planeptune Basilicom, 10:15am**

"This is quite the predicament" Histy said to herself, sipping away at tea at random intervals. With the death of Nepgear and the potential death of Neptune at the hands of these rebels, Histoire's nerves were shattered. Regardless, she still needed a plan to save Neptune. Planeptune's shares were draining rapidly, and in this state Neptune would be in no state to fight.

Speaking of Neptune, the weakened CPU of Planeptune was hunting for... something, in the Vault. It was rare to see Neptune so proactive, let alone dedicated, but the minute Neptune woke up she immediately went to the vault, and hadn't left since. Curiosity got the better of Histy, and she ventured off towards Planeptune's Vault.

Planeptune's Vault was an almost Eldritch location. Structures of trash that defied the laws of physics, piles of mess that bent light around them, it was a horror. In truth, it was mostly Neptune's uncaring nature that resulted in it being like this. She had little regard or care for the past, and very rarely if ever actually used the Vault, so for her to suddenly spend all day here was concerning.

"GOTCHA!" As soon as Histoire ventured only a meter into the vault, Neptune's voice boomed through it.

Appearing from behind a pile of trash, Neptune leaped into the air and sprinted towards Histoire, clutching a tiny glowing purple object.

"Histy, I got our defense solution riiiiiiiiiight here!" Making a cute pose, Neptune leaned forward and unclasped her hand, revealing a tiny pyramid object that was pulsating Intermittently. It was...a NEXT shard?

Histoire's slap came out fast and hard. "ARE YOU INSANE?!" It was uncomming for the little oracle to shout, but every moment was chilling when she did.

NEXT Form was the supposed step up from HDD. However, there were a few... issues. One, NEXT form was so rare that almost nobody in the public knew it existed. Two, NEXT form consumes share energy **and** life energy. Using it for too long can be permanently fatal. It was essentially a WMD, except the mass destruction was also inflicted upon the user.

"We JUST lost Nepgear and IF, and now YOU want to go out and potentially die too? What's **WRONG** with you Neptune?" Histoire was bitter, and on the edge of tears. She really couldn't handle losing another friend.

 _What **is** wrong me?_ Neptune though. Though her little sister died, as did one of her best friends, she seemed... oddly fine? Was there really something wrong with her? Was she _incapable_ of grieving? Aside from a few moments of sadness, she was still as chipper as ever. 

"I... I don't know Histoire." Neptune rarely, if EVER, called Histy by her full name. Her tone had changed almost completely, becoming sullen and withdrawn. In an instant, Histy was sympathetic towards her once more.

"Neptune, I know you want to save Planeptune, I do too, but I also don't want to lose anyone else. You're weak, we have no allies, and there are TWO CPUs breathing down our neck. I'm sorry, but we can not win."

Harsh as she was, Histoire was right. Well, mostly right.

"We have one ally though; Mrs Lonely Heart." Neptune was suddenly upright and full of life again. Sigh, she never changes.

"Neptune, she _killed_ Nepgear, are you sure we can trust her?"

And just like that, Neptune's posture fell again. Without making eye contact with Histy, Neptune gave a weak nod.

**Lastation Basilicom, 10:45am**

The holo-screen at the end of the desk flickered into life slowly. Not five minutes ago, Kei received an emergency distress signal from Planeptune. Noire's entire council; Kei, Cave, Uni and Rei all piled into the meeting room.

The screen finally bore a sight; Histoire.

"I must be brief, I'm afraid. I have devised a plan that will keep Neptune alive, however it will come at the hopefully temporary cost of Planeptune as a nation." Reluctance was dripping from Histoire's every word, and her first sentence ended on a long sigh. "I will stay behind to hopefully appease the new CPUs. If I can make their shares rise, Neptune may benefit as well."

Kei rose from her chair and interjected. "What's the catch, Histoire?" Kei had dealt with the oracles before, and was savvy enough to detect a potential problem.

Another long sigh. "You absolutely can not approach in HDD mode, you must be in and out within one hour. I must leave to prepare things. We shall wait for you, and shall leave an entrance unlocked at the back of the Basilicom, via the forest. Good day."

The holo-screen flickered and died, silence overcoming the room as it did.

Noire was torn; She loved Neptune dearly, but she wasn't an infiltration expert. The public know of the Gehaburn, so taking the sword with her was a massive no go, which left her greatly exposed. If only-

"Mrs Black Heart, may I offer a suggestion?" The oft quiet Cave chimed in, looking quite eager.

"Go on, Cave." Noire clasped her hands and sat back in her chair.

"I was the former security and infiltration specialist for Leanbox. With your permission, I would like to assist you in recovering Neptune. I have mapped the streets of Planeptune many, many times." There was a certain arrogance in Cave's voice, as if she was completely confident in her abilities.

"I can vouch for Cave" said Rei's voice quietly from the corner. "As can I, at least, the data from when she was active says so" chimed in Kei from beside her.

Noire rose from her seat, paced around the room, and stared at the window. It was going on 10:55, they didn't have much time.

"I'll take you on that Cave, we leave IMMEDIATELY." With a nod, Noire dismissed everyone except Cave. Taking her over to the side, Noire dropped all pretense of mightiness for a moment.

"If anything happens to me, I want you to rescue Neptune regardless, okay? She is priority one, I am priority two, got it?" Cave gave a nod. She knew about Noire's love for Neptune, though in saying that basically everyone did. Even Neptune.

**Planeptune streets, 11:15am**

Carrying Cave on her back, Noire flew to Planeptune's border and quickly moved inside. Planeptune's outskirts looked like an apocalypse had hit them. Nothing but silence, save for the odd smash of glass or yelling. Cave lead Noire through various side-streets, back alleys, and other shortcuts. Given the pace of her movements, and the sheer confidence in her strides, it was evident that she'd taken this route many times.

As they got closer to the city center, the silence began to fade, replaced with sounds of yelling and rioting. Was Planeptune really in THIS much chaos? Noire had little time to take in the ambience, as Cave was hurrying and rushing her along, through even more dilapidated and abandoned streets. Finally, they reached the city center. 

It was a very open path between the nook the two were hiding in and the entrance to the Basilicom underground access. There was a crowd gathering outside of the Basilicom gates, and it was VERY likely the pair would be noticed if they tried to cross. Blending with the crowd was also not an option, as the two were very out of place. 

In an instant, Cave grabbed Noire, pushed her towards the path she had to run, and ran towards the crowd. "ATTENTION EVERYONE: ORANGE HEART IS WORST CPU" Cave screamed, before bolting off into the distance. The angry crowd shifted their attention towards here, and went off in pursuit.

Noire smiled a little at Cave's display of bravado. She reminded herself to reward Cave somehow when they got back.

The entrance to Planeptune Basilicom's underground was dark and filthy. A decommissioned sewer, chaos had broken out before the city had the change to fully clean it out. Did Cave really wade through this in the years before? Eurgh.  
The gate came off with ease, practically falling apart as it did so. With cautious steps and careful eyes, Noire entered the tunnel and made for the back of the building. In her head, she was mentally preparing for her first meeting with Neptune in weeks. 

It would not be easy.

Her adventure in the smelly and unpleasant sewer over, Noire entered into the Basilicom forest for the first time in weeks. It had changed, in a way. Now overgrown and unkempt, it was as if the forest itself was mourning Nepgear. It seemed everyone was at this point. Noire stopped for a moment, taking in the fresh forest air. She hadn't really stopped at all since it happened. Every day was work, work, work. Always something to fix, always something to address. It'd been weeks since Noire just... stood still and breathed. It was pleasing, in an odd spiritual way. It still wasn't going to make the upcoming conversation any easier. 

Noire trodded slowly and wearily towards the back entrance of the Basilicom. Grasping the handle gently and pushing it down, it was... unlocked, good. Histoire had kept her word.

**Unknown Location, Planeptune, 11:25am**

Cave, though incredibly fast and nimble, was absolutely NO match for a Goddess, let alone two. Thus, she was captured and tossed into a dark, dingy room in a rickety shack. Her two captors were very astute; Within 5 minutes of her imprisonment, the darker of the two had deduced that her presence meant that another Goddess was in play, and sent the red one off to go find her. Once that was done, an uneasy silence brewed in the room as the darker one paced back and forth, appearing to ponder something of great worth. Eventually, she got very close to Cave, almost as if she were familiar with her.

"You loved a girl called 5pb., didn't you?" said the woman, with a very sadistic smile on her face, and she was right. But how did she know?

"Yes... I did, once." said Cave, hoping to try and worm out the source of that information. With a smile and a spring, the woman leaped back with glee.

"My name is Kurome. I like to travel dimensions a lot, since I lost my own. In my travels, I stumbled upon a little pocket dimension where everyone died, it was kinda funny. A woman that looked like you, and one that looked like the idol 5pb., keeled over and died in one another's arms. I figured you'd want to know." Kurome seemed to be enjoying this, as sadistic glee was overriding any other emotion on her face. "However, since you said you love her in this dimension, and I'm the most generous CPU of all time, I'm gonna let you go! Ta-ta!" Kurome lifted Cave up by her arm, and tossed her out the window nonchalantly.

Cave had hoped to repress those memories. When she was working in Leanbox, Cave grew incredibly fond of the idol 5pb. Her beautiful hair, her magenta eyes, the cute little shy smile she put on when nobody but Cave was looking, the way she cuddled into Cave during the nights when she couldn't sleep... but duty called, and Cave had to leave. 5pb.'s sister, MAGES., had often offered to put them in contact, but Cave always refused. Those were memories that had to stay longer buried.

Now free to do whatever, Cave immediately ran towards the border. She trusted Noire enough to handle things just fine. Why did that Kurome woman let her go so easily, though?

**Planeptune Basilicom Living room, 11:35am**

It hadn't changed at all. The couch was still a mess of cushions, the carpet was still frayed in random locations, and Noire swore that the pudding pot on the table had been there since her last visit. Also there was... the faint outline of Nepgear's bloodstain. Sigh. It didn't bother her so much now, she needed to face it today or she'd never have the chance to.

From the door on the opposite of the room came Histoire, nerves evidently shattered and mood thrown to the abyss. She nodded in the direction of the door, signalling Noire to follow her. A large staircase awaited, presumably to wherever Neptune was. The ascent of the stairs was a long, quiet one. It was possible that Histoire still couldn't face Noire after the Nepgear incident.

Nonetheless, a 5 minute climb led the two to their destination; Neptune's room. 

"You can go in, I have to go prepare some things" Histy said lowly before floating off back downstairs.

Beads of sweat began to roll down Noire's face. She told herself she had prepared for this, convinced herself she was ready, but she wasn't. Not at all. How could she kill someone's little sister and then face them? Especially when that someone is the woman she cherishes most in this world. The woman she, for years, looked after and doted on from afar. The woman she never once said "I love you" to, the woman she-

Click, creaaaaaaak. The door before her opened, and behind it stood the tiny form of Neptune. Without a word, she took Noire's hand and led her into the darkened room behind her.

It was nice to touch her again, if not for a moment.

Sitting down on a beanbag chair, and motioning for Noire to sit on the one opposite her, Neptune looked... oddly serene.

"I missed you, y'know that Noire?" Neptune said with an uncharacteristic softness. 

"I... I missed you too Neptune" Noire replied, forcing a smile as she did so. She wasn't lying, of course, but the strangeness of this situation was getting to her.

Silence. Neither of the two had any idea what to say, and while time was limited, they did have to speak first. Staring at one another, and then briefly to the side, and then back to one another for what felt like years, the atmosphere in the room was awkward, to say the least.

Said atmosphere was quickly broken by Neptune mumbling something unintelligible. 

"Neptune, did uh... did you say something?" Noire asked, worry in her voice.

"I don't blame you at all, Noire."

Hearing those words caused the sadness in Noire's heart to come to the forefront. A few tears escaped her eyes, and her face contorted into saddened grimaces. Neptune spared no second as she rushed to Noire's side, knelt beside her, and began drying her eyes.

"It's okay, Lonely Heart, don't stain your pretty little dress with tears. Or my carpet. Yeesh." Why was she so nonchalant about this? How?!

The two sat like this for a while, before Noire's emotions settled down a little. It was nice, in a way, to be near Neptune for a while. Before Noire could say anything, a dreaded DING echoed throughout the Basilicom.

It was 12pm. Neptune had to resign immediately. Grabbing Noire's hand, Neptune dragged her from the room and the two quickly descended to the living room to prep for a speech.

Only to be greeted by an unknown red-haired intruder relaxing on the couch, holding a VERY familiar sword.

"I was waiting at the front door, but I got kinda bored. Figured I'd let myself in. My name's Uzume, and I think this nation belongs to me, wouldn't you agree?" Though seemingly nonchalant, there was a subtle venomous tint to Uzume's words, as if she was a ticking timebomb approaching the final countdown.

"I gotta know though; Why'd you keep going Neptune? Lost your sister, your best friend, and soon your nation. I don't get it, you're all alone, so-"

"Hooooooooooold it right there Mrs Evil Heart, I'm not completely alone ya know" Was... did Neptune suddenly absorb Noire's personality? Was that why she was here? To consume her?

"Riiiiiiight the two lovebirds, I forgot I'd heard about you two" A playful smirk appeared on Uzume's face, as if she was amused by the concept of ANOTHER pair of CPU lovers. "In truth, I know how ya feel, and if it wasn't for the fact this is MY nation, I'd happily let you two go, but-"

"Wait a moment" Noire pushed past Neptune, and got a little closer to Uzume. "I thought you said, if she surrendered, you WOULD have let her go?" The alarm bells were ringing loudly in Noire's head; this was a trap.

"Oh no no no no, neither of us said that. You can go read the declaration yourself up there, nobody said anything about sparing" Uzume was right. There was no talk of sparing anyone.

In an instant, Uzume lunged towards Noire, who gracefully deflected the blow down towards the floor with her usual rapier. "That sword...!" Noire gasped; it looked just like the Gehaburn.  
"Seems familiar, doesn't it? Don't tell me you thought your sword was unique." Uzume backed off a bit, switching to a more combat oriented stance.

"Neptune, run." Noire said coldly. Neptune complied, backing off and running down the stairs.

Noire feinted towards Uzume, who refused to take the bait and responded with a swipe upwards which Noire only _barely_ missed. Responding with quick swipe, Noire managed to cut the fabric on Uzume's shirt, but little else. The two began circling one another, both trying to read the other.

"So, I get to reclaim my nation AND fight one of the tougher CPUs? Today's gonna be great." All calmness was gone from Uzume's voice; she was ecstatic to have a good fight. Uzume once again lunged at Noire, this time opting for 3 swipes in quick succession that did a great number on the furniture, but very little to Noire, as the Lastation CPU was quick enough to effortlessly evade all of them. Uzume wasted no time in following up, and assaulted Noire with a flurry of stabs and slashes, all of which ended in nothing. Uzume was strong with the sword, but Noire was far too fast for her to do squat.

"I'm aware you want to have fun, but I have something to do," Noire transformed suddenly, taking on a very annoyed face as she did "so GET OUT OF MY WAY"  
With one mighty swing, Black Heart sent Uzume flying through the living room window, onto the streets below. "That was simple" Black Heart gloated to herself.

**Planeptune Streets, 12:05pm**

Neptune zoomed through the streets, huffing and puffing all the way. She had no idea where she was running to, or where she was going, but she knew she had to trust Noire. She could trust, Noire, right?

She could. Entering into an open street, Neptune looked up and saw the graceful form of Black Heart soaring through the skies... only to be shot down by a powerful looking bolt of powerful energy. Following the bolt was one of the Orange CPUs, now with a black and purple colour scheme instead.

"You were actually dumb enough to try and slip under our noses. So much for "The Great Black Heart", huh?"

Neptune immediately changed course, running for the location where Noire may have landed. It was imperative that Noire get out of this too. In the distance, Neptune heard the steadily approaching sound of a great battle, which would often shake the earth beneath her. It took considerable effort to not fall face first into the dirt again.

The site of the battle looked like a literal warzone. Craters, scorched earth, buildings torn asunder like nothing. In the middle of it, two exhausted looking CPUs.

"Why are you fighting, Kurome? What do you WANT?!" Noire yelled, infuriated.

"Planeptune is mine. If not the one in my dimension then it has to be this one, or the next one. Nothing personal." Kurome retorted, seemingly oddly non-chalant about this entire situation. From nowhere, the sword Uzume wielded appeared in Kurome's hands. "I think it's time I ended this one." Kurome poised to strike, and Noire was too injured to actually move.

"NEXT FORM, GO!"

With a blinding flash, a taller and more muscular Purple Heart appeared between the two CPUs.

"Noire, stay back." Noire nodded, floating off to a safe location. Turning to face Kurome, Purple Heart wasted no time in begging her assault. Though wielding a mighty, massive sword, Purple Heart swung around with ease, easily deflecting Kurome's strikes. Within minutes, she had already landed multiple hits on Kurome and disarmed her of the sword.The fight was set to be short, swift, and simple.  
At least until the appearance of Uzume, who charged Neptune and actually managed to land a strike on her using the retrieved sword.

"Don't you DARE kill her, Neptune!" Uzume barked, shaking with rage.

Neptune tried to focus but... _Why is everything so fuzzy?_

Noire watched in horror as Neptune collapsed and detransformed, passing into complete unconsciousness. Bolting from her spot in the air, Noire grabbed Neptune and flew off into the distance, towards Lastation. Saving Planeptune meant nothing if Neptune was dead.

"Should we go after her?" asked Uzume, holding the injured Kurome.

"Nah... I got what I want." Kurome replied as she wrapped her hand around Uzume's.

"D'you think they'll live?" asked Uzume, noticeably much less tense now.

"Maybe, maybe not. So long as Planeptune is ours and you are mine, I don't care at all."

From the wreckage of the surrounding area, civilians rose from the rubble and ruin. They slowly crowded around the tired CPUs and stared. It began to make the two a little uncomfortable, as the crowd quickly grew to the hundreds. One woman in the back yelled "Hail Orange Heart!", and was echoed by another, and another, another. Eventually, the entire crowd was chanting it in rhythm;

Hail Orange Heart.


	17. Part 4.2: Uncertainty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noire and Neptune recover from their wounds.

Planeptune was once the mightiest nation. If not in strength, in spirit. Its people were always united as one, a force so great that the other nations had naught to do yet bow their heads in begrudging respect. Their love for their Goddess brought Purple Heart countless victories, and almost unending peace. Now? That worship was gone, as was their goddess. Now the object of Planeptune's worship was directed at the twin Orange Hearts. Two vastly more serious CPUs, far less whimsical and far more dangerous to the world than Purple Heart, yet adored just as much. The begrudging respect had turned to uneasy fear. Though they were cordial and polite to the other leaders, it was obvious that there was much more to them than they let on. Deep within the confines of Lastation's Basilicom, the two defeated Goddesses lay sleeping. 

**The Basilicom Infirmary, 8:32am**

Noire's return to Lastation was... rough, to say the least. The weakened Goddess only managed to carry Neptune so far into Lastation's border before the two came crashing down to the world below. Luck was on their side, however, as the Lastation military was already on alert and quickly recovered them.

The methodical beeping audible from the right is what woke Noire from her long slumber. Beep... Beep... Beep... With each beep, the world around her became less of a blur and began to take shape.

Sterile white walls, chairs by the bed, two beds to her left, a vase of flowers by her bed too? Purple Chrysanthemums. Oh dear. Opposite her was... Neptune?

**Neptune.**

Noire ripped the EKG needle and IV drips from her arm, tossed off the covers, jumped out of bed, and violently came face to face with a squeaky clean white floor. She couldn't feel her legs at all, they'd simply become two long dead weights attached to her waist. A burning sensation overtook her arm as well. Evidently ripping out an EKG needle wasn't the best idea ever. Regardless, a light concussion, no legs and a sore arm wasn't going to stop Lady Black Heart, however. Using the end of Neptune's bed for support, Noire hoisted herself upright and tossed herself into the nearest chair. Movement was difficult, oh so difficult, but Noire's raw determination kept her going.

Neptune looked... different, somehow. Noire had witnessed Neptune sleep many a time, as the purple CPU often enjoyed crashing Noire's basilicom and napping on the couch (not to mention the sleepovers), and every time she stared at Neptune's sleeping face, her usual joy and serenity was written on her sleepy gaze. But not this time. Neptune looked... older, unhealthy. As if she'd suddenly gained 20 years of life in just a day.

In spite of that, she was still wonderful to behold. Even here, Neptune still filled Noire's heart with the same glee it always did. She raised a weak hand to the sleeping CPU's face, sighing happily as she ran her fingers down her soft chee-

"Oh goddess, someone fetch the oracle!"

A blinding light overtook Noire's vision, and her attempts to shield her eyes from it caused her to lean too far back on the chair. The crash was severe enough to send Noire back to the realms of unconsciousness.

Silence.

**Basilicom Guest Room, 1:12pm**

"Noire... Noire can you hear me?" came a gentle voice. But from where? Noire could see naught but blackness. All she could hear was the voice... and an all too familiar beeping.

Through force of will and determination, Noire managed to wrench her eyes open and fight against the clutches of sleep once more. With each blink, the world grew clearer. With each blink came the familiar shape of... Mina?

"M... Min..." Noire was still weak, and forming words was an arduous task. Upon hearing Noire (attempt to) speak, Mina rushed to her side and knelt down at her side.

"Noire?" Mina whispered. "Fetch a stimulant, she seems lucid enough" She commanded to one of the officers at the start.

The EKG monitor came out painlessly, and the needle after it went in just as swiftly. Within minutes Noire could feel herself returning to the world. She gazed silently at the room before her. A comfortable little room; fine beige wallpaper, a nice little lamp in the corner, a desk, a bookshelf, a deskchair and two lounge chairs, all crafted from fine wood... fine **Lowee** wood.

"Mina...? Mina, where am I?" Noire spoke, still uncomfortable with using her mouth.

"Noire, it's uh..." Mina looked nervously to the two officers behind her, and then nodded her head at the door, signalling them to leave. "I'll begin at the start, for clarity's sake."

Mina rose from her seat, walked over to the window, and folded her hands behind her back.

"After your battle with the Orange Hearts, you and Neptune attempted to retreat to Lastation. However, the injuries you both sustained had a serious impact on you, and you crash landed inside the border, we-"

Noire rose to life all of a sudden. "But wait, how did I get to Lowee?" she said, uncertainty in her words.

"I'll get to that. Both of you were taken to Lastation's Basilicom to be treated. There were... complications. The injuries that you and Neptune had received were of a nature that weren't so easily healed by Shares. As a result the decision was made, after much deliberation, to place you both into a coma. Eventually, though, another decision was made..." Mina sighed deeply, aware of the consequences of her following statement.

"Uni and Kei agreed that keeping you at Lastation was too dangerous. They contacted us in secret. They agreed to hand over the sword for research purposes in exchange for us harboring you here safely. They also faked your death, so that neither of the Orange Hearts would pursue."

Noire was unable to focus on anything Mina was saying, only vaguely processing it, as another thought was at the forefront of her mind.

"Neptune... what about Neptune?"

Outside of Noire's view, Mina's face drained of colour entirely.

"We haven't been in contact with Lastation for months. We don't know where she is."

Noire paused. Months? But... it didn't matter, only Neptune mattered right now.

"I woke up before and saw Neptune, though." Noire said, with all the will of an embarassed, weakened child. 

"That was... before we put you under. A long time ago."

"Long time ago? How... how long have I been out?"

Mina froze. She knew fine well this question would come, but she was wholly unprepared for it regardless. She took a deep breath, and knelt down by Noire's bedside, taking her hand gently, like a concerned parent.

"Noire... I'm afraid it's been three years."

Silence, once again.


	18. Part 4.4: Undercover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noire tries to cope with the new world.

**Lowee, Noire's retreat facility, 3:30pm**

Noire's reaction to the news was... less than pleasant. Three years. Three years without Noire and it seems like the world had all but forgotten she even existed. Here she was, staring out a window in a dingy Lowee facility.  
It wasn't even a window. It was a webcam hooked up to a tree on top of a hill. The facility was underground, for security reasons. The panel on Noire's wall was just a digital interface to _simulate_ a window.

When Mina broke the news to Noire, the former Goddess became catatonic. Sat in front of a window with a blanket over her, Noire was simply wishing to wither away and die. She believed the world had left her behind, and her only option was to give up.

Fate had other plans, however. 

Behind her, Noire heard the already familiar creak of the door opening. _Great_ she thought, _Mina's come to beg me to speak again_

"...Noire?" Huh? That voice wasn't Mina. It was a lot higher in pitch, a lot more familiar, it was-

"Noire, is it really you?" It was... Uni?

Out of the corner of her eye, Noire could see Uni pull up a chair beside her. Turning to face her, Noire could already see that the Uni before her wasn't the same Uni she taught to fire a rifle five years ago. Those scars still remained, and her leg was still covered in bionics.

"Uni? Are you really here?" Noire was verging on paranoia, she was well aware that she could face hallucinations after waking up from a coma.

Uni delayed her response, instead leaning closer into Noire and taking one of her hands.  
"Yes, Noire, it's me." she said, a familiar softness in her voice.

The same softness that was present long ago.

Noire let out a weak smile. It was all she was capable of, as she was still too groggy from waking up to do much else.

Uni knew, of course. The Lastation sisters always had a strange, almost telepathic bond with the other. Perhaps it's a Goddess System thing and nobody else knew. Perhaps it's a sister thing. The former candidate nudged her chair directly against Noire's, and leaned in for a hug. Noire raised a hand over Uni's arm and gave it a gentle stroke. In truth, she was shocked that Uni even cared. After all, Noire **did** kill her girlfriend.

"Uni, I thought you'd hate me?"  
"I did, sis, but three years is a long time, even for me." Uni gave a weak, warm smile, which quickly faded to sadness "It's... just not the same without you or Neptune in the world."

Noire didn't even think about the rest of the world.

"How's Lastation? How are you and Kei doing?"

Uni let out a weak, embittered laugh "Things are... not good. The rebuilding efforts from Plutia's attack are still underway, and lots of citizens in affected areas are **very** angry. We've reason to believe that the twin Orange Hearts are sending agents in to incite anti-Goddess attitudes too. Not to mention the fact that they're still trying to push us into releasing the sword. Thankfully, though, they bought that you and Neptune are dead, so you're at little risk."

Noire's ears perked up upon mention of the sword. "What about the sword?"

Uni sighed, as if she expected that question. "Lowee, Lastation and Leanbox are all engaged in a smokescreen campaign to misdirect the attention of the twin Orange Hearts. Leanbox is sending fake transmissions to its outposts that imply the sword is within its borders, which Lastation and Lowee are reinforcing with similarly falsified transmissions... except it's not in Leanbox at all. It's here, where you are, about 50 floors down. Nobody knows this except you, me, Cave, Rei, Blanc, Kei and Mina-"

"Wait, Uni... you said Cave and Rei?" Noire was puzzled. Last she remembered, they were just two advisors, How did they become THAT important?

Uni folded her arms and looked out the faux-window. "Chika was in no state to rule Leanbox, so we took her under her wing to keep her safe and had Cave run a campaign to raise support for a new Goddess. Naturally, Rei stepped in. The nation has pretty much stabilized, though the nation still mourns Vert. Rei mostly follows Vert's old policies, with a few deviations. She keeps Planeptune occupied with naval skirmishes that won't amount to much, and if the twin Orange Hearts appear she's enough of a match for them."

Leanbox ruled by a million year old Goddess and a deep voiced security specialist... the surprises just keep coming.

"What of Planeptune, Neptune's old stomping ground?"

Uni's posture fell, as if she was suddenly defeated just by the mention of that place.

"It's... not really good. It's basically become a surveillance state. From the outside it looks fine, but that's because they're heavily monitoring what gets OUT. Citizens of other lands think it's unchanged, but we see it for what it is. People just... disappear if they criticize the twin Orange Hearts. Histy is still their mouthpiece, but it's obvious that she has no choice. We even heard rumours that Nepgear's grave has been... has been desecrated." Uni slumped down on the chair beside her sister, 3 years of pent up emotions coming to the forefront.

Noire leaned over and cuddled her sister, caressing her hair as she did so many years ago.

"I love you, Uni, and we can do this together, alright?" Noire looked down at Uni, a proud big sister once again. Uni looked up, tears in her eye, as if she was the same girl that Noire taught to style her hair.

But another question was on Noire's mind, a most important one.

"Neptune... Where's Neptune?"

Uni went pale. This was the question she absolutely did **not** want to answer.

"She's in Lastation, deep within the industrial sector. Nobody would suspect that the nation that killed my- that killed her sister would harbor her safely. But... you can't visit her."

A subtle anger began to appear in Noire's eyes. "Why not?" she asked sharply.

"Noire... everyone thinks you're dead. If you come back, do you have **any** idea what that'll do to the state of the world? Lastation is being monitored, if the twin Orange Hearts see that you're alive, Goddess knows what they'd do to you, or to Neptune."

Uni was, admittedly, right. For Neptune's sake, Noire couldn't go out into the open like that. Not yet, anyway.

"So, what can I do, Uni?" Noire said, her words tinged with irritance.

Uni looked to the faux-window, then to Noire, then to the door.

"We can get you out of here, but there's a catch; You need to stay in Lowee for a week, in their Basilicom. We'll move the sword and maybe begin operations against Planeptune. But you absolutely **_CAN NOT_** be discovered, understood?"

Uni was more assertive now. She had that leaderly tone in her voice, though she tried to suppress it.

"Understood. When can I leave?"

"Right now, in fact." Mina's voice came from the doorway. There stood the oracle, suitcase in hand. Had she been listening this whole time? It mattered not.

Noire stood up, and almost immediately her legs gave out under her. Falling onto Uni, the former candidate acted as a crutch for Noire as she exited the facility. For once, Uni supported Noire, and not vice versa.

The two had been talking for hours, and the sun had begun to set. For the first time in years, Noire got to see the sun set, to feel the wind on her face. It was a beautiful feeling.

One that wouldn't last.


	19. Part 4.6: Usurper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurome deals with a loose end.

**Planeptune Basilicom, 3:40pm**

Kurome Ankokuboshi was an intimidating woman. Smaller than the other CPUs, yet her gaze was enough to reduce almost anyone to stammers and her voice usually lulled everyone into a sense of fear. It was the eyes. Always the eyes. In contrast to Uzume's fiery reddish eyes, Kurome's were an empty dark blue with a feint of red. No pupils, either. Her eyes were a void. A void that consumed the bravery of anyone that stared into them too long.

Except Uzume. No, Kurome's other half seemed to enjoy looking into them. It was perhaps the only thing in this world that scared her. It made their intimate moments awkward at times, but never stopped them. Uzume seemed to be blind to the fact that she was a part of Kurome... was she? The Uzume that initially banished Kurome was just a fragment, but this Uzume appears to be her own person. It's clear that this Uzume was Planeptune's CPU at one point, as she could tap into share energy effortlessly. Similarly, the sheer amount of Negative Energy generated by both swords meant that Kurome might be the most powerful person in this dimension, which would make conquering the other 3 nations by force much easier. Kurome needed their faith and facilities intact though, for rebellion could hamper her plans.

As if on cue, a Planeptunian soldier burst through the door.

"Ma'am! A PPC remnant was just arrested trying to enter the Basilicom through a security gate with invalid credentials. What should we do with them?"

Planeptunian Protection Corps. Planeptune's loyal guardians _or rather **Neptune's** loyal guardians._ They fought to the last, but were mostly brutalized by Kurome's newfound supporters. Uzume got out of bed to give an order, but was silenced with a wave of Kurome's hand.

"Bring her here."

Kurome said, quite smugly considering the circumstances

"What are you planning?" Uzume said, half-curious and half-scared.

Before Kurome could answer, the prisoner was brought before them: Nisa, former leader of PPC and former head of the rebellion, now clapped in handcuffs and covered in bruses.

"Well well, what have we-"  
"Shut up. Kill me." Nisa was having none of Kurome's monologuing.  
"How defiant of-"  
"I said SHUT UP." Nisa broke free of the guard's grip and stared into Kurome's empty eyes. "Kill me."

Kurome was irritated at her defiance, but nothing showed on the surface.

"Hmm... Guard? Unrestrain her"  
"Uh, ma'am?"  
"You heard me."

The guard nodded sheepishly, and then unlocked Nisa's handcuffs, which fell to the floor with a very hollow clunk.

"You wanted to kill me, I assume" Kurome picked a nail file from the nigthstand, examined it, and tossed it to Nisa "So kill me, then."

Kurome fixed her gaze on Nisa, who darted her eyes from Kurome, to Uzume, and back to Kurome.

Taking a deep breathe, Nisa charged Kurome wildly, slashing at her torso and stabbing her repeatedly. Kurome never even flinched, never even moved, never even _blinked_. Uzume could only watch in horror and confusion, unwilling to intervene in the off chance that **maybe** this was all intentional.

Nisa tackled Kurome to the ground, diverting her slashes and stabs to Kurome's neck and face, eventually lodging the nail file in Kurome's jaw bone. Throughout all of this, Kurome's face was unmoving. Nisa fell back, completely exhausted and completely shocked. The guard was unsure whether to shoot Nisa or not, Uzume was unsure if Kurome was even alive or not, and Nisa was unsure whether to try vaulting off the balcony or not.

"Guard... you can leave now." The words that broke a minute of silence. The guard, still completely in disbelief, nervously shut the door and strolled away. 

Laughter. Not wheezy laughter, as you'd expect from someone with a slashed throat, but **triumphant laughter** , victorious laughter.

Kurome ripped the nail file from her jaw and threw it straight through Nisa's knee, forcing the maker to the floor in pain, all without ever moving from the floor.

"Uzume... fetch the sword" Kurome asked coldly, standing up as she did.

"Do you know what happens when a Goddess is hit by one of the two swords? She dies." Kurome strolled over to Nisa, and leaned over slightly. "Do you know happens when a human even touches one?"

Kurome knelt down, and looked Nisa right in the eyes.

"They cease to exist. Not as a body, not as ashes, not as particles, not as **anything** "

Uzume re-entered the room, and handed the sword over, planting a kiss on Kurome's cheek as she stood back. Raising the sword high with both hands, Kurome brought the blade down and impaled it into Nisa's already wounded leg. The instant it connected with her, Nisa's soul felt **wrong**

"You can leave now. Goodbye." Kurome said ever so smugly, completely aware of what awaited Nisa at the end.

The former leader of the PPC pulled herself to her feet and, faced with no other option, limped out of the Basilicom. As she limped through the streets of Planeptune, she began to notice her memories fading. Names, places, events, dates, all disappearing. 

_Where am I?_  
Where's Neptune? Gust?  
...Who are Neptune, and Gust?  
Why do I feel so warm? 

Nisa continued walking, the only thing she knew how to do. Eventually, the tired heroine of justice collapsed in front of a hotel, on the grass lawn beside the fountain.

_Who am I?_

Justice's story ended where it began. With one last breathe, the heroine of Gamindustri faded into nothing.


	20. Part 4.8: Undying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noire and Uni continue their journey.

**Lowee Forest, 6:45am**

The sisters had set up camp about a mile from the facility. It'd gotten dark fast, and the forests of Lowee aren't the safest place to be in the dark. Night came, as did sleep, and eventually morning returned to the world. The rising sun gently peeking into the Lastation duo's tent roused them both, and within 10 minutes they were up and out.

Lowee was quite some distance away: Twenty miles, on foot. Sure, Uni could have easily transformed and flew them there, but the twin Orange Hearts were keeping an eye on any CPU energy signals. The kind generated by going HDD. As a result, their only choice was to hike it on foot. Not helping matters was the _location_ of the facility: Situated in a jungle denser than Peashy and so far from civilization that you could call it Neogaf, the facility was pretty much invisible.

It had another problem, however. Sure, it was nigh impossible for intruders to get _in_ , but that went both ways. 

"So... I've been meaning to ask, but how exactly did Leanbox manage to avoid being enveloped by the Orange Hearts almost immediately?" Noire asked, breaking the silence of the sisters' slow plodding walk through the forest.

Uni tilted her head, thinking for a moment.  
"Well, there were a number of factors. The biggest one was the fact that the nation's military was still fanatically loyal to Vert, even in death. Planeptunian forces went to Leanbox hoping for an easy kill."  
Uni paused, and smirked a little.  
"They got one. Leanbox forces tore them to pieces. The northern coast of the Leanbox continent was renamed "The Red Sea" because of how many people died there. But that wasn't the sole factor. After your fight with Kurome, she was weakened. Wouldn't show it to anyone, but her refusal to go HDD and just curbstomp Leanbox made it obvious. And then, there was the Black Sunday-"  
"Black Sunday?" Interjected Noire.  
"Calm down, Solid Snake. Yeah, the Black Sunday. About a year to the day after you vanished, there was a long Solar Eclipse. Nobody knows what happened, but when it passed, an entire district of Planeptune had been shredded. Like a giant wild animal just tore through it. You can find the pictures on some shady internet sites; They're not pretty. After all that happened, Rei was accepted as their CPU and things resumed to normality." Uni finished her sentence with a sigh, having not expected to speak so much so early.

Noire extended her hand and stopped Uni from moving. Something had changed in the air, something awful. Something... Familiar.

Suddenly, a clapping sound.  
"I'm impressed, Black Heart. I really am." That sultry, deep, mocking voice could only come from one person... "Iris Heart, in case you've forgotten me. Figured I'd come pay a visit to the grand reawakening of a dear old friend." Iris strolled towards the two, but they backed up almost immediately.  
Her removed arm had been replaced with a black and purple cybernetic, one that seamlessly fit into her outfit. "You." Noire growled, hate boiling within her. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you to pieces _right now_."  
Iris chuckled. "Because you can't. Can you even transform, Black Heart?"

She had a point. Noire was far, FAR too weakened to do ANYTHING. Transforming in this state would probably kill her, and the lack of shares would do her no favours either.

Iris raised her hands. "You can relax, though." she said, with a hint of mockery. "I'm not _really_ here. Just a shadow."

Before Noire could respond, Iris faded away, smirking all the while.  
"Well that was... puzzling" Said Noire through her teeth  
"Troubling, more like. We should keep moving." Uni tapped Noire on the shoulder and motioned to move.

Uni had changed _a lot_ in the intervening years. Gone was the childish naivety and blistering lack of self confidence, both having been replaced with a world-weary sense of pragmatism and a self-determination that had all but washed away her previous insecurities. It almost reminded her of Soeni: Their steel-hearted and militaristic mother that, for all her long years of life, barely interacted with the two.

But Noire had forgotten all about Soeni, suppressed the memory until it couldn't even whisper in her mind. Why now, of all times, is the memory returning to her? Soeni was a fantastic leader, but not the best mother. Under her thousands of years of ruling, she raised Lastation from an international footnote to one of the world's strongest nations. Force was her strongpoint; When she was alive, she was regarded as the greatest military commander who ever lived, and even today generals from every nation keep copies of her self-published book, "The Art of War", in their desks. Even in times of peace, her determination and forceful personality meant she was a diplomatic powerhouse, and Lastation _still_ benefits from numerous treaties that were signed when Soeni was alive, despite the fact the other 3 CPUs that were alive at that time have long since passed.

If only that attention, planning and care was given to her daughters. Noire vividly recalled many moments where she was scooted out of rooms by Kei because "Mother's working, dear". Even when Soeni did pay attention to her, it was only brief.

"Mommy's working, sweetie, go play with Uni."  
"I can't play right now, darling, I have a meeting."  
"I have to work late tonight, dear, Kei will make dinner."

It was always the same. Yet, Noire remembered one instance that stood out. It was about 120 years after Noire had been born, and in human terms the equivalent would be a 12 year old. Soeni was entering into the end of her lifespan: Goddesses can live for an extraordinary amount of time (Rei Ryghts, the apparent oldest CPU, is 10290 years old), but even they succumb to age. Noire was playing with Neptune, Nepgear and Uni in the Lastation Basilicom, and Nepgear had tripped on the stairs, hurting her knee quite severely. Noire rushed to find someone to help, but as it was summer, nobody was around. So Noire decided to bother Soeni in her office and to her surprise, Soeni came along. They took Nepgear to the living room and bandaged her up. Noire expected Soeni to up and leave, but instead she offered to... play with them, and so she did. Their afternoon was spent in a playpark, not too far from the Basilicom. Indeed, Soeni _playing_ was such a surprise that all of the other CPUs at the time were shocked. Umbriel, Neptune and _Nepgear's_ mother, even flew over at Mach 10 to see if she was alright, which humoured Soeni.

What _didn't_ humour Soeni was the other two CPUs coming along. She drew her blade then and there, but to her surprise, they detransformed instantly. They, too, though she was behaving out of character.  
"I-I'm not out of character! I can have fun!"  
Suddenly it all makes sense. Regardless, the reason this was such a big thing was because Leanbox and Lowee's CPU were at war with Lastation, yet they still flew over out of a strange sense of worry. That day was the first "peaceful" interaction in many hundreds of years: The wars were called off, the CPUs and their children slept over at Lastation, and the world rejoiced. Sadly, Soeni didn't live to see it. 20 years later, Soeni went to sleep and didn't wake.

It all seemed so distant to Noire, and it technically was; It was about a thousand years ago, but CPUs are supposed to have incredibly good memories. To feel the passage of time is a bad omen.

"Noire... are you crying?" said Uni, worry in her voice  
_Huh?_ she thought, unaware of the tear that had escaped her eye.  
"Not crying, just..." she sighed "Thinking back to that one night with mom, when all the CPUs made peace because Soeni pushed us down a swing a few times."  
"Heh... different world, it feels like." There was a hint of resentment in Uni's voice. "Either way, it's only about 3 miles to Lowee. You've been quiet, you know."  
"Yeah... lost in thought, I guess. Hey, do you think Kurome knows where the sword is?" Noire asked, shyly.  
"I hope not. We haven't transformed yet, and I didn't transform on the journey to the facility, or our journey to Lowee, so we should be fine." Uni replied, with an inkling of hesitation. "In any case, Lowee is close. We won't be going in the front doors, obviously. An agent is going to meet us at a decommissioned mine and lead us in."

Noire nodded, and the two continued their long stroll to Lowee. Eventually, they broke out of the colossal forest, and the Land of White Serenity was visible to them. The two stopped to take in the view, before descending a steep hill that almost seemed to go below the city. The hill led to a rickety trench, which had clearly been long abandoned and appeared to stretch on for ages. But their feet did not fail them, and they made it to the entrance of the mine.

Out of the blackness stepped a blue-clad figure in a beret.

"Hey there, I'm C-Sha. I'll be your tour guide."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soeni is taken 1:1 from Men-Dont-Screams's interpretation. I stuck with her original name of "Soeni" rather than "Sonya" for spoilery reasons.


End file.
